Who's the Ace of the Race?
by Regina Bianca del Mare Azzurro
Summary: The entire basketball team believes that Sharpay Evans is the hottest girl in East High. They make a bet whoever wins a “competition” will be the one who gets the Drama Queen as a prize… The best part: in each round one contestant gets eliminated!
1. Mission: Sharpay Evans

**Who's the Ace of the Race?**

**Author's Note & Disclaimer:** I don't own any character; I don't own HSM or Disney… blah, blah, and blah. I only own the plot which I hope you find entertaining. Here goes the summary: The entire basketball team believes that Sharpay Evans is the hottest girl in East High. Thus, they make a bet; whoever wins a "competition" will be the one who gets the Drama Queen as a prize… But here comes the best part: in each round one contestant gets eliminated! I will propose two, and you, the faithful reviewers will vote who is going to exit the course! Have fun! Angie.

**

* * *

**

**Mission: Sharpay Evans**

"Congratulations boys!" Coach Bolton screamed with excitement at the changing room. "Do you have any idea what that was? Let me tell you! It was triumph. It was victory. It was our complete dominance against the little pathetic West High basketball team! Go Wildcats!"

"Go Wildcats!" the basketball team chanted in unison, and everyone resumed dressing up.

"Let me tell you," Chad Danforth told Troy Bolton, the coach's son and the team's captain, "the West High team is not at all pathetic. Things seemed really awful until…"

"…until she came!" Troy exclaimed, his face showing that his thoughts were racing far away. "My Sharpay!"

"I can't believe what I'm hearing!" Mark Sindall shrieked. "Our team captain is beaming to the name of Sharpay Evans. Stop that, Troy pal! You are being overdramatic, like the drama queen! Since when did she become your Sharpay, anyway?"

"She's beautiful," Troy mumbled. "She is..."

"Hot!" Jason Cross cried.

"Fabulous!" That came from Zeke Baylor, known for his persistence with the blonde.

"Sexy! Every man's fantasy! A godess!" Chad added. "Troy, you are not the only one who is madly in love with her."

"Exactly my point!" Mark went on. "Sharpay is not yours Troy. After all, you have Gabriella. And you, Chad, you have Taylor. And then Jason fancies that shortie, Kelsi Nielsen. Oh, yes and Zeke has… his pi cakes! So everybody's happy and Sharpay is mine!"

"Are you kidding?" Zeke interrupted. "I make these pi cakes for her. And how can you ever compare the amazingly stunning Sharpay Evans to Gabriella Montez, Taylor McKessie or Kelsi Nielsen! This is blasphemy!""

"He has a point there," Chad and Troy said simultaneously. Jason barely talked so he remained silent.

Everything seemed to lead up to a fight when Coach Bolton entered the dressing rooms. "Guys! I don't believe it! There is too much tension in this room! Don't tell me you are arguing for that cute girl again."

"Cute? Sharpay Evans? No, Mr. Bolton, she's more like a diva!" Mark observed. As Chad nodded he kept on, "Chad should not even have the chance to speak, he thinks of her as the Ice Queen and the Mountain Lion!"

"Well, yeah! She is a cute mountain lion!" Chad defended himself.

"She is kind of sexy," Troy's father admitted. "That girl should really be in the cheerleading squad instead of all this theatre kind of crap, the singing and the dancing. I'd kill to see her endless legs!"

"Dad!" Troy intervened, his words having a "what-are-you-thinking" tone.

"I only said she's pretty, that's all," Jack Bolton replied. "You see guys, when I was in school and captain of the basketball team there was a girl, Lenora. She wasn't as beautiful as Ms. Evans, but still everyone had a crush on her. When we won the championship, we decided to make a competition between the team, to see who deserved her. Whoever won dated the girl. The others showed respect."

"Who won?" Jason asked.

"Unfortunately, it was Carl, my best friend," the coach responded with a sigh. "He beat me in the final. So what I am suggesting is that you do the same thing. It can't harm, can it? See it as a friendly competition with Sharpay as the prize. Each one will get eliminated in every round."

"Cool!" Mark hurled.

"I'm in," Troy said more redundantly.

Everybody agreed to participate in the race ….including Jack Bolton himself.

"But, sir, excuse me if I'm wrong but… aren't you married?"

"Chad, excuse me but don't you have an affair with Taylor? Guys, you may think I'm too old for games, but let's see who'll have the last laugh. I think Sharpay is hot too, I mean, I'm just a man but I may know women better than you think! Plus, it wouldn't be bad to feel like your age again for a while, with that competition and stuff."

"He's right," Jason admitted. "Since everyone in the basketball team has a crush on the famous blonde and Coach Jack is a vital member of the team in his own way, he should have the right to participate. So, to sum up, I think every contestant should present himself. Zeke, you begin."

"Ok, I'm Zeke Baylor. I'm seventeen years old and I've had a crush on Sharpay since she got her first role, which is practically kindergarten. I also adore baking, and I'd make anything for her, even a crème brulee".

"Hey that's pathetic! You think you deserve Sharpay because you can bake?" Troy intervened. "Let me introduce myself. I, Troy Bolton, may have a girlfriend but Sharpay has always been my secret desire and I think she fancies me, so I have the right to go out with her."

"You think she fancies you?" Mark asked, his eyes wide. "Troy, that was ages ago, before you hooked up with Gabriella! I, on the other hand, Mark Sindall, am single and waiting for Sharpay! I may be a background player but I'm the best-looking person in that team, and you know how she loves athletes!"

"I think you are wrong there. I, Jack Bolton, am the best-looking person in that team," the coach smiled, sure of himself. "You know what they say, some age, others mature. Your friend, too serious to be a cheerleader is a true artist. True artists, see Scarlet Johansson, always fell for the magic of mature men!"

"Sharpay's not that serious!" Chad protested. "And she needs Chad Danforth to make her laugh and have a good time. She said she liked my hair too. Guys, there's nothing going on with Taylor, and once she knows, our beauty will come rushing to me!"

"That's nonsense!" Jason had his part. "Look at me, the all-amazing Jason Cross and then look at Sharpay Evans. We're just meant to be together. I love sleeping, even though that's irrelevant, but hey, beds, sleeping, you get the point…"

"Your sense of humour is awful, Cross," Jack remarked, and everyone laughed. "Now, I'm going to announce the first task of the competition…"

"Hey, why would you announce it?" Mark was easily irritated. "I mean, sorry sir, but isn't that going to be a democratic vote, with everyone proposing the tasks and deciding who leaves. I thought that was the idea."

"That's exactly the idea, but it was my idea in the first place, so I will propose the first task, to get you into the game. After each turn, one gets eliminated and we, as a team will decide who was less worthy. Actually, let's shift the rules a bit. We will nominate two, then we will vote for the one we want to stay and he get's to choose the topic for the next mission. Do you agree?"

Everyone nodded, impatient to hear the first mission.

"Our first mission will be: **Bring her a present! **Each one will have to offer Sharpay something, and we'll see what she likes the most!" Jack went on with enthusiasm. "If she doesn't like your present, you won't be rewarded, that's for sure."

"Great dad," Troy exclaimed "but there's a slight problem. It is called Ryan Evans and it's her overprotective brother. I mean, in order to give gifts to Sharpay, we must get past him first and you known he guards her all the time. They are constantly together!"

"Oh, is it too difficult for you, Troy?" Zeke mocked. "Are you giving up?"

"Of course I'm not!" Troy affirmed. "Guys, the game has just started. Let's play fair and square. Go!"

And with that, Troy Bolton rushed out of the changing rooms, to be soon followed by Chad, Jason, Zeke, Mark and his father. Each one was thinking about his next move. The race to Sharpay's heart had officially started.

* * *

**Author's Not****e: **So, did you like? Tell me! Who do you think is going to win? Who would you like to? Just for clearing things out, Mark is a name I decided to give to the guy in the 'What Time Is It?' music video whose yearbook Sharpay signs first. I think there's chemistry between them! Is that Jared Murillo, by the way? I really don't know. 


	2. Round 1: Bring Her a Present

**Round #1: Bring Her a Present**

Coach Bolton, whose idea was the competition in the first place, had been appointed chief of the team's first meeting. They were all revising their first round results in a small classroom, where they all sat. The coach was noting on the blackboard the mission statement in bold letters: bring her a present. Everyone else was sitting in their desks. Chad was painting doodles in the corner of his notebook. Zeke was eating a chocolate éclair. Jason was –what else- napping. Troy played nervously with his hand on the desk. Finally, Mark was concentrating on his basket ball. The first to stand up and join Mr. Bolton at the board was… Zeke Baylor.

"I knew this would be a difficult task for me, as Sharpay never let's me near her locker. She will scream out something like: "Evaporate, tall person!" or "I'd rather stick pins in my eyes." So, I decided to go there when she would be in drama class and leave my present, the most delicious crème brulee I've ever made, with a note," Zeke started, as his teammates clung to him. "It was a great plan until he showed up…"

"Don't tell me," Chad's face darkened. "Was it…"

"Yep, it was the Ice King himself," Zeke muttered in terror. "He made me froze with that icy glare of his and I couldn't say a word. Then, I thought I heard his voice "What on Earth are you doing near our lockers?" I didn't know what to answer. I stood there, paralyzed. "I… I didn't know it was your locker," I mumbled while his gaze captured my present. "You sure did. I mean this one is all covered with pink glitter and that one with Italian leather." I never felt so stupid in my life… I took my éclairs and left, running."

"Zeke… Zeke!" Mark interrupted. "That's not the right attitude. Why would you be so afraid of Ryan Evans anyway? He's just a pretty boy and you are… significantly taller?" As it was now Mark's time to speak, Zeke returned to his desk while the other boy took a pose on the blackboard.

"Unlike our pal, I decide to confront Ryan Evans directly. I found him in the hallway. "Hello, Ryan!" I told him, "I really enjoyed your theatre performance last week," I added, though of course I did not attend. "Here, these are some roses from a fan for your leading lady, Sharpay. Tell her that I believe she is very… talented." That was it, guys!"

Everyone kept their breath. "It can't have been that easy," Troy observed and the others nodded. "It was clever though, confronting Ryan directly. Now you earned his respect… and you used the right words… wow!"

"Yeah, I'm a born diplomat," Mark smiled. "He asked me why, he said I shouldn't do anything weird with his sister because he loves her more than anything et cetera. I replied that I deeply cared for her too. At last, he gave her the flowers and I don't know how to tell you, people, but she found me during lunch break and blew me a kiss! You saw it Chad, didn't you?"

"I did," the boy with the infamous afro admitted, as he took Mark's standing seat. "Unfortunately, I wasn't as successful as that. I only got a slap from the Ice Princess."

"…a slap? How did that happen?" Jason woke up, surprised.

"I wanted to give her something really precious to me. But then, I wouldn't lose something that precious so I decided to give her my old action figure collection I got from corn flakes packages. It was something I wouldn't miss but I deared the most when I was five. I thought she'd find it cute, but as I handed it in to her, I saw how lousy a present it was. She didn't say a word, she only slapped me."

"Aw, Chad!" Jack Bolton faked a voice as his turn had come. "You guys think that you've got all it takes to flirt with woman. Trust me you don't! Why would you think of something complicated when all they need is a simple thing: diamonds! What I got Sharpay was a pair of earrings forming the letters S and E, her initials, in rhinestones. She really appreciated it."

"Dad, that's not fair. You have the money!" Troy protested.

"Nah, it wasn't as expensive as you'd have thought. Plus, I have the objective difficulty of making her liking me because I'm way older than her. Your advantage is my disadvantage and vice versa. This is why I left it in her physical education locker, the one with the purple glitter with the note: "your secret admirer."

"That was smart," Troy agreed, "and way too suave. But you see, dad, I have the very edge over you because she seems to have a crush on me. I hang out with her and I know perfectly what she wants, which is why I got her that top she said she liked the other day. I bumped into Ryan too, he was muttering something like: "she got an awful lot of presents today, is it our birthday?" but I actually found her in person. I put on my best smile and gave her the present. I had the pleasure of seeing her beam with happiness and…"

"Mr. Fairytale, can you please finish off? You are way too cocky!" Chad remarked, clearly bored.

"The best part of it, she gave me one of these smiles too," Troy concluded triumphantly.

That was the signal for Jason's turn. Usually Jason didn't talk much but he managed to open his eyes, face his audience and start narrating his version.

"I didn't know at all what to get her. It was difficult to choose something for her. Then, I realized she reminded me of someone… distant. It was Cecilia, the Ice Princess, a bedtime story my grandmother used to read to me. It is about a beautiful ice skater who decides to make a dancing show. I totally despised that story then, it was too girly, but Sharpay kind of reminds me of it and makes me see it now… in a new way."

"Very philosophical," Zeke commented sarcastically.

"She said she loved it." Jason returned sincerely. "Even though it was only a child's book she said it was cute!"

"That's it!" Coach Bolton said. "I think everyone has spoken. So let's make our nominations. I'll have to nominate Zeke as he didn't even give the gift and Troy."

"But I did well!" Troy protested.

"That's why!" Jack said. "I'm blowing away the competition"

"Fine, then I'm nominating you and Mark!"

"Troy and Chad" Mark said in return.

"Zeke and Jason," Chad replied to that. "The fairytale story was just ridiculous".

"I'll play fair," that was Jason. "I'm nominating Chad, he was a failure and Zeke."

Zeke bit his lip. "I have the option of making this a tie with Troy but I won't. I nominate Chad and Jason, just because I won't nominate myself."

"So the results are… Zeke with 3 votes and Chad with 4 votes. One of them won't continue the race but who?" Jack Bolton questioned. "You can think of whom, people. We'll meet tomorrow, after practice!"

Everyone left. Chad's steps were heavier than usual. "It's so unfair," he thought. "I tried! Coach should be in my position; after all he didn't even make clear the gift was from him!" With these thoughts, he bumped on Sharpay in the corridor.

"I'm sorry Sharpay," he whispered. "I really like you."

"What?" the girl replied. "Oh everybody does, really!" she added casually.

That didn't work right for Chad. He tried once more "Sorry for now… and before… I just wanted to give you something special but I messed up! I really think you deserve it."

Sharpay froze. "Chad," she said, abandoning her Ice Queen attitude. "I don't know why, but I got many presents today… Your apology though was the best gift I received."

She blew him two kisses in the air, and left. Chad was bedazzled. "Competition or no competition, Mark eat my dust!" he thought and with his stomach as light as a butterfly he rushed in the cafeteria.

* * *

**Author's Not****e: **It's a Chad VS Zeke first round and I think you get how Chad is my favourite to win between the two, this round at last! My vote goes to him! Stessa was the first to review, so she gets a special mention! I'm glad she likes Chad too. Thank you too doodleswriter357, charmed4eva112 and chris tea xx. I promise there will be a major twist. Still, YOU make this story! The next chapter might be shorter, but there are more surprises to come… Don't forget to vote if you review!!! 


	3. Code Name: Boys

**Code Name: Boys**

Kelsi got in Sharpay and Ryan's car, a beautifully sleek Porsche Boxter. They used to drive her home every day after school because she didn't have a license herself. It was all part of their agreement: the Evans' twins would give her rides while she would write better songs for them than for Troy and Gabriella and give them the leads in every musical. It wasn't fair really, but it was Sharpay's idea and… well… no one can say "no" to Sharpay Evans. She simply won't take that for an answer.

Sometimes though, Kelsi feels glad her friends drive her home. Sharpay may not be as sweet as Gabriella or as smart as Taylor, but she's still fun to talk to. And then, Ryan is a great person who cares a lot about others, especially his sister. Sometimes, however, sibling fights occurred, which was the case that day.

"Can you please explain to me why on earth did you get so much presents today?" Ryan demanded Sharpay.

"How should I know?" she replied, a little irritated. "It seems they like me, Ryan, unlike you. You've never had a girlfriend in your entire life. That's why you're jealous now!"

"I'm not jealous! For your information the entire cheerleading squad and the drama club fancies me. I just don't want you to get hurt with all those kind of wannabe fans of yours. I mean, the entire basketball team sent you gifts today! And who's that secret admirer of yours anyway?"

"I do not believe you opened my locker! I have the right to some privacy, you know! Kelsi, what do you have to say about that?"

East High's so called Sondheim hated these moments. She couldn't tell her opinion, because if she agreed with one Evans, the other would make matters difficult for her at school all week. This time she rather supported Sharpay, but she didn't want to invoke Ryan's rage either. She adopted a diplomatic stance.

"I think the basketball team acted strange today," she observed, trying to get away. "Jason, my supposed boyfriend didn't talk to me all day, while he usually is sweet and funny. I don't know…"

Just then, her eyes fell on a book, thrown into the back seat of the car. The cover read "Cecilia, the Ice Princess." Kelsi was sure she had seen that book before, she only couldn't remember where. Then, it hit her: it was Jason's house!

"Sharpay… Sorry for asking but where exactly did you get that book?" she finally asked.

"Jason gave it to me, as a present" the blonde blurted out. "Why?"

"You… don't like him… Do…you?" Kelsi posed another question, under her breath.

"No silly! I might be a bad girl but I'd never do such a terrible thing as stealing a mate's boyfriend! Why would I?" Sharpay said cheerfully.

"I don't know I just don't like it!" the cute shortie whispered. "Maybe Ryan is right after all. Maybe you are getting way too much attention. Maybe you shouldn't flirt as much. Maybe…"

She stopped, as Sharpay's face became dark. "I'm not trying to steal your boyfriend, I said. You know, I'm a normal girl really, even though a little glamorous. I'm definitely not a wannabe sex bomb! I see, not without sadness, that you agree with Ryan. What you don't know is that, like everyone, I have a crush too!"

Both Kelsi and Ryan were ready to go "oh-oh" when they heard the word crush. "Who is it?" they asked, together, wanting to know the latest gossip, each one for different reasons.

"Sharpay clung to her driving and lowered her head. "Sorry, I can't tell. I'm way too shy. Why should I tell you anyway, after having you two yell at me?" she faked sadness...

Those drama queens! They really are overdramatic at times…

* * *

"I would like to welcome everyone back," Coach Bolton said with his serene but austere tone. "Today one of us will quit the race and it will be either Zeke or Chad. I want you all to remember one thing: even if you lose, you shouldn't tell anyone, especially Sharpay about our race. It must be a secret and the looser should accept his loss with dignity, like a man. Let these words be our code of honour. Let me also declare that whoever tries to cheat, by trying to ruin another's chances of winning should be disqualified immediately.  
Above all we are a team, thus friends. Other than that, all's fair in love and war."

Everyone, from Zeke and Chad to Troy, Jason and Mark nodded.

"So, how do you feel, you two?" the East High captain finally asked, breaking the ice. "Are you nervous? Are you frightened? How are you Zeke? Is everything ok, Chad?"

"I …love Sharpay!" Zeke mumbled. "I really want to stay in the race. Yep, I am a little anxious but just a little. It is to keep me going…"

"Please Troy, cut the crap!" Chad got in. "This ain't a reality show!"

"All right then. I am ready to announce the results," Troy continued in a kind of formal tone. "The four of us who will with certainty proceed to the next round, meaning Jason, Mark, Jack and I have decided that the one who will not join us is…" here he made a dramatic pause.

"You're starting to sound like a TV host!" Zeke cried. "Please keep on with the result!"

"Oh, you wouldn't like to hear it," Jason commented, half asleep as always. "You are out!"

"What!" Zeke hurled while Chad's face showed signs of relief. "This can't… This can't be…"

"Great, Jason! Now you spoiled all the fun!" Mark gave Jason an angry look. "And see, you will make our friend Zeke cry!"

"I am not going to cry!" Zeke responded to that, wiping the tears that wanted to come out of his eyes. "But I love Sharpay!!!"

"We love her too pal," Chad's voice was heard for the first time. The winner of this round remained calm and compassionate to his friend. "It's ok. Just because you lost, it does not mean you are not worth it. There are several other girls in the school, like the beautiful cheerleaders. I heard that blonde, Sabrina, has a crush on you. You are our friend and the fact Sharpay didn't appreciate your gift means she doesn't deserve you. But, hey would you have a problem if she deserves us?"

Zeke did not respond but his eyes showed that he was grateful for his friend's behaviour. "Sabrina is not Sharpay but. she is not bad… not bad at all. Giving her cookies might be a problem but, hey, I recently started to specialize in healthy pies!" He smiled.

"These are my boys!" Jack exclaimed. "Now we settled things out, Chad, our winner for this round will announce our next challenge."

"I thought of it," Chad admitted, "but it might take time. Guys, each one of us will take Sharpay out for a date. Still, it won't be just any date. You'll try to **be her perfect date**. It might take time as we should set up a schedule of when each one will date her."

"You mean like I'll date her on Monday, coach on Tuesday, Troy on Wednesday, Jason on Thursday and you on Friday?" Mark questioned.

"Exactly, that's my point. Let's keep your schedule Mark so we'll know who gets to date her and when. Of course, if she rejects to date you, you are automatically a candidate for getting out of the race. So, what do you say?"

"I say it's a cool idea!" Troy acknowledged and Jason nodded.

"Great! Of course, I suppose that Zeke will stay as a judge of who should be proposed for candidacy and who is going to be out, is that right?"

"Yes I am," Zeke affirmed, the smile slowly returning to his lips.

"Whatever!" Mark interrupted. "We only have a week to date Sharpay. Today it's Friday. I presume we'll meet next Monday again. Now, I' m off to ask her out!"

"Not if I ask her out first!" Troy got in front and the two boys rushed out of the room.

"Wow! Will Sharpay agree to go out on five dates?" Chad asked himself.

This would definitely be a busy week…

* * *

**Author's Note:** Thanks for all the reviews; I was so happy I got your votes! This story is going to go fast, I promise! Feel free to review or leave any comments. See you soon! Xxx, Angie. 


	4. Round 2: Be Her Perfect Date

**Round #2: Be Her Perfect Date**

It was Monday, the day when the gang had decided to hold their formal meeting. Much had gone on last week. First of all, there was this emergency meeting at Troy's house where Chad had urgently proposed a special clause he had forgotten at the description of the mission: "nobody should kiss Sharpay, because this is an early round, and after the final it might be awkward knowing that all your best friends have kissed your girlfriend. Everyone agreed and they passed the special clause.

Then, it was the five dates with Sharpay! At today's meeting everyone claimed they were successful, including even Coach Bolton! Chad and Jason had persuaded Sharpay by claiming it was a friendly date, while Troy and Mark had played out the hang out card. But…enough with the words! Let's see what the contestants had to say out for themselves. The first contestant who stood up was Mark Sindall.,

"I am sure I did beat all of you!" Mark affirmed with a cunning smile across his lips. "There couldn't be a best date for a girl –ever. Sharpay had adored the flowers I sent her, so she agreed without further thinking to come with me to White Satin…"

"You mean Albuquerque's most posh gourmet restaurant?" Chad interrogated. "That must have cost you a fortune!"

"Oh yes! I spent all of my allowance, but Sharpay totally deserves it! You should be there to see how happy she looked. She ordered sea food, some kind of shrimps and exotic calamari. Apparently she is a little spoiled heiress, I mean have you seen the Evans' mansion? She must have felt right at home, because she couldn't stop telling me how romantic that was, how she enjoyed the food, how eclectic my taste was. She chatted and laughed, and after a glass of champagne, she became really flirty! Sorry for you guys, but it just seems that I'm an early winner."

"You are not!" Jack Bolton intervened drastically. "I am still in the game and I think I did great on my date."

"How could you possibly manage to have a date with Sharpay?" Troy asked. "I mean, did you reveal your identity to her? If so, how did she… accept? You are way too old to seduce her."

"Relax, my boy! I think I have my way with women," the coach laughed. "I did quite a research on Ms. Sharpay Evans before I dated her. Did you know, for instance, how the Phantom of the Opera by Andrew Lloyd Webber is her favourite musical? When I learnt, after checking her essay folder at the teachers' lounge, I made sure to recreate her favourite scene."

"What do you mean by that?" Chad was curious.

"It was easy. The secret admirer left a note in Sharpay's locker, telling her to come her eyes blindfolded into the school cafeteria… after school, for a surprise would be attending. The surprise was recorded piano music, I put in the megaphones and we started to dance. She said it was an unforgettable experience and that she longed to meet me. I made sure she couldn't see me, so I became her Phantom and she was my Satine…"

"Dad, it's not Satine… It's Christine. Satine comes from another musical…" Troy corrected his father.

"Son, do I look like Darbus to you? I don't give a damn if it's Nadine or Pauline. She liked it, that's all. After all, I always considered musicals to be kind of gay."

"Really?" Troy replied back. "Too bad she adores them. I on the other hand," he went on, as it was his turn to speak, "invested on her other great love, which is sports. Sharpay may not be tall enough for basketball, and I don't have any access to elite sailing or tennis clubs, where she usually trains but don't forget I used to work as a caddy in the Laguna Golfing Club. Now you should know Sharpay loves golf too; she even has her own cart! So, we sneaked in at night and…"

"You played golf?" Zeke asked impatiently. "Why on Earth would you go on a date with the hottest girl in East High only to play golf?"

"We didn't play golf, you silly!" Troy resumed. "It was late in the evening, so there were far better things to do. We sat near the seventeenth hole and I offered her some iced tea. Then we chatted and laughed and have a way good time under the stars. I really wanted to kiss her, I was desperate, but then I remembered our deal: no kissing in this round. So, I had to turn my face in regret when she leaned next to me, sparkling with desire under that full moon…"

"Sparkling with desire under that full moon?" Jason mocked. "Guys, what makes you think that Sharpay is a romantic kind of girl? We had fun together, and it was not at all like pink fairies and handsome princes on white horses! I took her to the cinema and then we went bowling and she couldn't stop giggling the entire time! I'm telling you, she loved every second of it!"

"What movie did you see?" Chad asked, just to make his point.

"Em, I think it was Shrek the Third! I repeat, she is not the little princess or the Paris Hilton you think she is. She's a funny, laid-back girl who appreciates comedy. And she's pretty decent at bowling too! She constantly hit strikes and turkeys and when she hit a spare she took a really funny sad pose! At first, she was a little afraid not to break any nails but then… she beat me."

"You got beaten by a girl?" Mark's eyes opened wide.

"Not any kind of girl!" Jason smiled proudly.

"Dude, you got beaten by a girl!" Chad exclaimed. "How pathetic can that be? I agree on you on how a date with Sharpay should be anti-romantic, but then you should listen to my version of it. I got Sharpay to a dance club, where we –what else- danced together. She enjoys music, so what's more perfect for our little musical girl than dancing? She was awesome but then she said I amazed her with my moves!"

"So, what happened next?" Troy asked.

"Nothing really, except she said she had the time of her life," the boy added on. "I just think that the beautiful things in life, like dancing give the greatest pleasure!"

"All right," Coach Bolton summed up. "If everyone has finished, I suggest getting on with the voting. Zeke, last round's looser should be allowed to start first."

"Let's see," the talented baker said. "First of all, I have some cookies with me. Anyone want any? Well, don't look at me like that! I'll nominate Coach Bolton first. Your strategy was awesome sir, but you should direct a girl directly, even if she shouts: "Evaporate, tall person!" See? Then, I'll nominate Troy, because the golf idea is absurd.

"I," Chad started, "nominate you again, Mr. Bolton, for similar reasons and Jason because I'd never take a girl like Sharpay to watch Shrek!"

"You should be nominated, dad" Troy burst in, "and Mark too."

"Zeke is right, Coach, you should have been direct and sincere. That's the whole point", Mark said. "Troy, I'll nominate you too. You are good competition, you know!"

"Mr. Bolton and Chad," Jason added. "This is because he said I get beaten by a girl."

"Fine then," Jack bit his lip. "My picks are Troy and Jason. This means that I am nominated to leave with 5 votes and Troy comes second with 3 votes. So I guess this is a father and son thing."

Troy didn't respond. This was unfair. He had done his best. Sharpay had come close to kissing him. He believed himself as a favourite to win the race, after all. As the meeting was dismissed, he went straight to homeroom. He was the first to enter the class, or not?

"Hey, Troy!" he listened to a voice he adored behind him. "How are you? You know, I still can't forget our evening together, in the golf course. It was fantastic. Too bad it was not a date. I must say it felt like one…"

Her eyes blinked and Troy wanted to see her old crush on him still there. But then, he couldn't tell. Sharpay stood up, gave him her best smile which made her all beautiful and sexy and awesome… there was definitely something there wasn't it? On the other hand, that was the way Sharpay behaved naturally, flirting without stop? Or was it something special? Troy was confused.

The magic was still there. The blonde approached him with small paces. Troy went towards her. Let alone that stupid competition, he knew it was time to kiss her. Or again, wasn't it?

"Troy! Here you are!" he heard another familiar voice. As the bell rang, Gabriella rushed into the classroom, towards Troy and hugged him with all her strength. "I missed you, sweetykins! How was basketball practice? Did you have a great time? Hi, Sharpay!"

Troy let a sigh. Sharpay raised her right eyebrow and sat in her desk, soon to be followed by Ryan. Troy sat near Gabriella and soon Mrs. Darbus came in. That had been really close to magic, Troy thought as he relaxed his body over his desk, preparing himself for a boring school period.

* * *

**Author's Note:** You can start voting again. This time it's Troy VS Jack, father VS son! Hehe, that's an easy one, isn't it? I support Troy, because Troypay is love! But what is important is what you support. So, don't forget to vote! Our contestants are dead anxious! Love you all and hope to see you soon! 


	5. Pop Quiz: Gossip and Secrets

**Pop Quiz: Gossip and Secrets…**

There's Gabriella sitting in the East High cafeteria. She is smart, beautiful and sweet, making some to believe she's a Mary Sue. She isn't really. Her secret: she cannot act, which is why she had troubles in the winter musical, even though she has a lovely voice. Next to her is Taylor, as smart and chic as her best friend. It is said that she won the fashionable nerd competition three times in a row. Her secret: she almost flunked physical education last year. Then there's Kelsi: a musical talent, a sweetie and the cutest short person ever who composed the musical Twinkle Town. Her secret: she enjoys b-movies.

Somewhere in the middle is Sharpay, East High's stunning drama queen. She guards her secrets very well. Nobody knows how her favourite colour is lime green and not pink, or how she wears eye contacts. Still, everyone dies to know her number one secret, which is no other…

"C'mon, Sharpay, there must be some guy in the entire school you like!" Gabriella shrieked. "Tell us!"

"Yeah, who is it?" Taylor added to the suspense.

"I told you, I can't tell," Sharpay insisted, her beautiful face spoiled by a childish frown.

"She's too shy, it's no use." Kelsi remarked. "She won't even tell me."

"On the other hand, though," the blonde offered. "I could give you shopping advice, beauty advice, boyfriend advice or relationship advice. I'm pretty good at that!"

"Isn't she just the greatest?" Taylor clapped. "So, what's your opinion on Chad?"

"He's a great guy, funny and cute! You should ask him to take you to a dancing club. His favourite music is hip hop, pop and r'n'b, so if you go out with him a great time is guaranteed!"

"What about Jason?" Kelsi asked.

"Jason… He is sleepy but in a cute way. Sometimes he's just like a child, he likes fairytales and comedies, but I believe he's really sweet."

"And Troy, what about him?" Gabriella got in, impatiently.

"Oh, Troy…" Sharpay let a sigh. "Troy was my old crush, as you all know. He's like the greatest guy ever. He's kind and romantic and talkative… You are lucky to have him, Gabriella."

"I know!" she giggled. "Then, what do you think about Mark? I think he's got a crush on you!"

"Mark, you mean East High's vice basketball captain? I believe he's like Troy in a way, considerate and thoughtful and fairly cute! No doubt, he is almost as good as Troy in the game!"

"How do you know all this stuff about boys?" Taylor admired.

"Yeah, how do you know all this stuff?" Ryan intervened, coming out of nowhere, taking Sharpay with him. "Sorry to deprive her of you, girls but we have drama practice."

"What do you want from me?" Sharpay asked when they moved a little further, towards the corridor where their lockers were to be found. "You know perfectly well that drama practice is over for today!"

"The question remains, Shar," Ryan continued in a softer, but still imperative tone. "How do you know all this stuff? Is it maybe because you dated all these guys in the same week plus a 'secret admirer''?"

"How do you know about the secret admirer?" Sharpay mumbled.

"That's not the point! You are dating people who are not exactly single! Do you think that your behaviour to your friends, Gabriella, Kelsi, and Taylor is the right one? Don't get me wrong, Sharpay, but I believe this is immoral. You can't…"

"Oh, stop it Ryan," Sharpay started to weep, knowing that this always had an effect on her brother. "I just wanted to have some fun! Is that too bad? I didn't form a relationship with anyone and I was just my usual friendly self. I can't help it if I am a little too flirty, it's just me!"

"Shar, don't cry! I understand. Drama can be very demanding and of course you want to have some fun! How stupid of me not to see! Do you want to do something together, maybe go to a play? If you want another boy to come with us, I could ask my friend, Robert."

"No offense, Ryan, but Robert is like twelve. I understand you too have a good time together playing video games while you baby sit him, but why don't you want me have a real boyfriend?"

"It's not that I don't want you to have a boyfriend! If you like athletes so much you can have Mark Sindall, he is in the basketball team, single and he said he liked my performance!" Sharpay's twin cried, but the blonde was already far away, rushing to be in time for her next class.

* * *

"So, here we are again!" Zeke cried, when the basketball team rejoined after practice in the usual empty classroom. Chad sat altogether with Mark and Jason while Troy and his dad were standing, giving each other meaningful looks.

"How do you feel Troy, Mr. Bolton?" Chad asked, considerately.

"I'm fine," Troy said. "Most of you believe that I'm totally in love with Gabriella, my current girlfriend, but let me remind you that Sharpay has been my crush forever. I love and care about Gabriella, as a very good friend. I'm passionate about Sharpay, and I can't wait to win this competition!"

"What can I say after that…?" Coach Bolton took his turn. "I'm not expecting to win this round, especially not against Troy, who I'm proud to say has taken after me. Your little blonde friend is hot; I can definitely tell why you all like her. As I've said when we started: may the best one win! This is certainly not me: she's a sexy lass, but I'm not her age. Still, if we'd played this game like ten to fifteen years ago, you would have so eaten my dust!"

"Indeed, Mr. Bolton," Mark admitted. "Zeke, Jason, Chad and I have voted you unanimously out of this game. "Still, we need to praise you for your excellent strategy and the way you taught us to be real and proper gentlemen and compete gracefully on and off the stadium."

"Is it my idea, or is someone running for basketball captain?" Chad remarked and everyone started laughing, beating the awkward silence which followed the serious statement.

"So, I guess I'll have to choose what our next task is going to be…" Troy started. "I've never thought of this much, but I'd seem like a nice idea to try and involve her brother. What about: **impress her brother**?"

"Are you joking?" Jason asked, these being his first words in the meeting. "What does Ryan has to do with Sharpay, I mean apart from the fact that they are twins?"

"It's clever!" Mark said. "Sharpay admires her brother as much as anything in the world. If we impress him, we impress her. And think of that: if we impress him early and gain his respect, he could be much of an ally in the later rounds. Troy, you just proved how smart I am when I already gained his admiration in the first round. It's no problem to do this again though!"

"I don't know…" Chad blurted in. "This task sounds extremely difficult. Just remember how difficult it is to impress a stuck-up snob like Ryan and, on the other hand, he is too overprotective with his sister. What if he understands anything? We swore to keep this competition a secret, didn't we?"

"Well, I don't know. I'm in!" Jason said. "I'd do anything to get Sharpay! If you won't do this, Chad, it will just make it easier for the rest!"

"I'll do it, of course!" Chad declared.

"That's brave of you," Zeke whispered. Ryan was a great obstacle for him in the first round.

"So, I'll give you a lot of time for that!" Troy said. "See you again at the end of the week! This practically means three days!"

"Wait, before you go!" Coach Bolton shouted. "For the next round, the voting procedure should change! As less people stay in the race, we will only vote for one person…"

But who was hearing him, anyway? The five stars of East High's basketball team rushed out of the classroom, ready to enjoy what was left of their break and –why not- the chance to see Sharpay at the cafeteria…

* * *

**Author's Note:** That was easy! The duel was very expected, but still I'm glad Troy won. Well, I won't tell you who I support; this is going to spoil the story. Thanks once again for the reviews, the more who vote, the better the outcome. I have to say I loved jade-kwl-name-eva's review: it was hilarious! Blueeyedgir19, I really don't know who's going to win, probably Troy but then who knows? Special thanks to doodleswriter357, Stessa, Elva is watching you and chris tea xx too! Their comments are always appreciated! 


	6. Round 3: Impress Her Brother

**Round #3: Impress Her Brother**

The four contestants didn't have smiles on their faces as they entered their familiar meeting room that Friday. Jason seemed sleepy (how striking!), Chad seemed like he was ready to cry, Troy looked distant and Mark's face was emotionless, like he was absorbed somewhere far away.

"What happened guys?" Coach Bolton and Zeke asked together. "Was it that tough?"

"You tell me!" Troy finally spoke a word. "It was disaster, at least for me. It was the worst idea I'd ever had, impressing her brother. My plan was genius but then… I don't know how, it became a real loss."

"Come on, tell us. No one seems to have done particularly well either!" Jason insisted.

"Well, you know how I got the lead role in the winter musical?" he started, but seeing cold glares at him he spoke more quickly. "Obviously, you do. I was hoping around every day and I was only talking about that when I did. So, I told myself that if I wanted to impress Ryan, all I had to do was a repeat. Therefore, I went to the auditions for the spring musical, what could have been better? Not to mention that I might actually gain a role next to Sharpay! Fortunately, Gabriella won't sign up for this one because there's too much pressure from Taylor and the Academic Decathlon team."

"So, where's the problem?" Mark asked. "As far as I know you are a decent singer!"

"I thought that too, as I started to sing the auditions song!" Troy started to sing. "It's hard to believe that I couldn't see you were always there besides me… I went on, and even did the do-do-do-do's at the end, like Sharpay and Ryan. I could see Sharpay was really interested, because she clapped. She stood up clapped, and commented on how she'd enjoy a duet for me. Too bad she was the only one! "Very well, Bolton!" I heard Mrs. Darbus say. "I see you spiced up your songs a little. Unfortunately, what you just sang was the audition song for the winter musical and now it's …spring!" Everybody laughed, and I stood on the scene, emotionless.

I saw Ryan shooking his head with obvious disapproval, then whispering something to Sharpay. They both started laughing. Then, he said to me: "The do-do-do-do's in the end, they were no good. You should better sing in a way that flatters your voice" It was a gentle remark really but to me it sounded mostly like "that was pathetic." As I say the twins going away, I felt like a looser."

"That wasn't that bad!" Mark started narrating his story. "I mean… it was but listen to my story; it may actually make you feel better. I guess if you sang correctly, Ryan might have even feel offended, like you start to compete with him. My thought was, preparing the perfect cafeteria experience for Ryan and Sharpay, since I was the prefect in charge for the cafeteria this week. As we'd been out together, I knew Sharpay had eclectic tastes and I believed Ryan would share them. So, I decided to serve them myself."

"That's too far-fetched," Zeke remarked. "You are not Ryan's servant but, on a second thought I might have followed a similar strategy. At least, it shows good manners towards a lady and her brother."

"The best thing the cafeteria had to offer that day was the infamous double hamburger, a personal favourite. Zeke pal, I got one of your books telling how you can spice up cafeteria food and it seemed nice to put some nut sauce in it, to give it an exotic taste. Apparently, this was the worst idea I've ever had."

"Why?" Chad interrogated. "Your plan seems decent to me!"

"It was." Mark sighed. "Guess I should have taken that warning when Ryan gave a sideways look at the meat and declared with a high voice: "I'm a vegetarian. Thank you for thinking for me, though." As he took the meat out, I heard a shriek behind me. It was Sharpay! "Mark, please don't tell me that hamburger has nut sauce in it!" I couldn't but nod. Was it my idea or her rosy cheeks were becoming deep red? This couldn't be good! "Are you crazy?" Ryan got up immediately, shouting at me. "Can't you see she has food allergies?" The least I could do was to act quickly: I got up, held her and ran to the school's medical centre."

"Geez! I hope she's all right…" Jason whispered. "At least, I left her in a good condition! You see, I didn't know what to do, so I decided to impress Ryan by beating him at his strong point: wearing a hat!"

"But you don't have any hats!" Troy pointed out.

"I know, so I went in Hat Trends at the mall, to buy a dozen. If Ryan sees a fashionable guy, I thought, he'll make sure he's the right one for his sister. I couldn't be more wrong, as my plan backfired. When I entered the store, Ryan …was there too! I almost gasped when I saw him. "What do you want, Cross?" he asked me, with his menacing, flat voice. "I… I'd like to buy a dozen of hats!" "A dozen of hats? he frowned. "What for?" I heard they are very fashionable this season and I admire you a lot so I'd love to look like you." I was shocked."

"Hehe… That is unbelievably gay Jason!" Zeke cried.

"No, it's not a bad idea at all," Mark insisted. "I should have done that!"

"Ryan saw me trembling" Jason went on with his narration. "As I thought I was doing disastrous enough, he tried to help: "Why don't you wear that one, the purple flat with the green stripes." "Nah, I replied. It seems awfully gay; I mean who wears purple and green nowadays?" Just as I finished my sentence I saw the hat he was wearing… It was identical to the one on display. Instead of impressing him, I had offended me. "Get out right now from my favourite shop, you blasphemous, unfashionable twit!" or something like that was the last thing I heard."

"Guys, I really feel better now," Chad started to narrate his story. "Still, I didn't do well either, when I was expected to. You know, the only thing Ryan Evans and I have in common is baseball, so I decided to play my sporty card. I signed up for the school's friendly game. I told you I'd do. It was yesterday. Imagine my disappointment when I didn't see anyone of you, my basketball pals there!"

"We had practice!" Troy defended the team. "What happened with you though? Tell us!"

"I got voted MVP of the game. I really did my best as Sharpay was in the stands, watching me. In the end she clapped very hard!"

"So, what's your problem?" Coach Bolton asked. "You did well."

"Yep, I'd have done brilliant if he task was about impressing Sharpay. But as the rest of you, Ryan didn't turn up at the match. I didn't see him anywhere. Later I learned that on Wednesday evenings he baby-sits his younger cousin, Robert, a spoiled twelve year old and they play videogames!"

"Everybody sucked at this task, didn't we?" Mark remarked bitterly. "So, let's get on to the voting procedure. As usual, Zeke and the Coach should start first.

"I definitely vote for Mark," Zeke said, seriously. "He messed up with two of my favourite things: food and Sharpay!"

"Mark, I'm afraid it'll have to be you," Coach Bolton added. "Zeke's right".

"I'll vote for Chad. He technically didn't meet Ryan, so it's like he didn't even try!" Jason remarked, going back to sleep.

"I agree with Jason," Troy made his point. "So, Mark, I won't vote for you this time. Chad."

"I'll vote for Mark too" was Chad's reply.

As to Mark, now a sure to be duelist he only said "Jason." This was the first time he didn't vote for Troy. He went straight out of the door not hearing Jack's summing up the names one of whom would leave the race in the next round. It was Mark Sindall with 3 votes and Chad Danforth with 2.

"How come Jason always does the most stupid thing and never gets nominated? He almost told Ryan he was gay! I mean, he insulted him!" Mark thought as he was heading toward the school's medical centre. "And all of the other ones remaining are not single! Chad, for God's sake, has an affair with Taylor!"

Sharpay was still recovering, resting on a bed. She seemed all cute and innocent and Mark felt really, really terrible for bringing her to that condition. How could he be such a jerk? He was angry with himself. He liked Sharpay so much; he could do anything and now…

"Don't worry," he heard a familiar voice from the school's hospital bed. "I'm okay, really. It wasn't your fault. You just wanted to be helpful!"

"Does that mean that you're not mad at me?" Mark smiled.

"Of course I'm not mad at you! I mean, how many people would have come to see me? Just let me make sure I'll give you a list of my taste aversions next time you want to be nice with me…"

"Alright," Mark laughed. "Still, I felt guilty and brought you a little something."

"Oh, that's a get-well-soon card! How cute is that, Mark? Mark? Well, I supposed he left," Sharpay muttered to herself. Where could he be? She didn't open the card and instead she got back to sleep, to get some rest. Had she opened the card, she would have only found only three words and an exclamation mark: I love you!

* * *

**Author's Note:** I really wanted to do this a Jason vs. Mark thing, but I decided to do it slightly more difficult. For this round, my sympathy goes with Mark for this round because I don't want him to be just another Troy clone… So it's Chad vs. Mark, who will you vote for? The excitement is great, isn't it? The entire HSM cast is adorable in some way or another, but there is room for only one winner (even though it would be cool for Sharpay to have her own harem…) I know I had promised to update Ryan's Hat Tricks but I decided to finish off this story first. Don't worry, it won't be much long! I can tell you, I'm past the middle! Feel free to vote, and be sure that your opinion will be heard! 


	7. Clue: A Secret Uncovered

**Clue: A Secret Uncovered**

"Kick, step, kick, turn, turn, kick, step, turn!" Usually it was Sharpay yelling these words to her brother, longing for perfection within every move, but it seemed now that the roles were reversed. "To the beat, kick, turn, turn, kick! Step, arm, step, arm, turn, turn, kick! Sharpay, are you all right? Have you forgotten your steps? Turn, arm, arm, step, step, kick!"

Sharpay danced and twirled around when she lost her balance and fell to her knees. She was clearly confused. This had never ever happened to her before. It was humiliation, and worst of all, it had happened in front of her back-up dancers.

"Gretchen, Angelique, Martina, Desiree, Florence, practice has finished for today. You can leave. Drew, Sean, Martin, Oliver, Ivan you can take a small break. In half an hour exactly I want you back to rehearse Act Three. No please let me have a word with my sister!" Ryan coordinated.

"Wow! You're almost as good as me at that!" Sharpay admired. "Maybe you should try some leadership classes I can offer you, including yelling and being mean and a stuck-up snob, in other words, the perfect Ice King!"

"What happened, Sharpay?" Ryan asked protectively, hugging his sister. "It's not you, forgetting the steps of our dancing routine. Are you all right? I mean, no offense but usually you are the one coordinating and yelling and being mean and a stuck-up snob, in other words the perfect Ice Princess."

"I love your sense of humour, probably because I have the same!"

"Seriously, Shar, are you ok? I don't want you to get too tired!"

"I'm fine, Ryan, really. See, I can do our routine. Kick, step, kick, turn, turn, kick, step, turn! Kick, turn, turn, and kick! Oops, I was late by half a second there. Sorry, I promise I'll work on it!"

"Sharpay, you've been thinking about him again, haven't you?"

"I've been thinking about whom, exactly?"

"Your secret crush, come on! Shar, you can trust me. I won't tell anyone. Just tell me who it is. It will make matters so much easier, I promise!"

"I'm sorry, I can't!" Sharpay insisted. "Don't you see Ryan? I'm pretty confused myself. He's sweet and nice and great but there's still something holding me back."

"Let me guess: is it Troy Bolton, Chad Danforth, Mark Sindall or Jason Cross?"

"It's one of them," Sharpay sighed.

"That's enough for me," Ryan smiled. "I don't want to put to much pressure on you. You can now go. The boys and I will work on Act Three, because there's so much work to do!"

"You're like the greatest brother ever!" Sharpay hugged Ryan and left the practice room.

Ryan was left alone in his thoughts. He had been correct! His sister interest was indeed someone from the basketball team. But, then, the entire basketball team had started to act weird as far as Sharpay was concerned in the last weeks. What did they want from her? If anyone was to hurt her, Ryan would certainly make his life miserable. Not many people knew but he had taken martial arts classes when he was younger, excelling in capoeira and kung fu.

He had an idea. He called Drew, Sean, Martin, Oliver and Ivan on their mobiles to tell them that today's rehearsal had been postponed for another day. Then, he took his folders and went to the gym, where the basketball team was supposed to have a practice session. Weird enough, he didn't find anyone there…

"Where could they be," he kept asking himself until he stumbled upon Taylor in the hallway. She was wearing her white lab coat, which meant she was rushing to her chemistry class. Still, Ryan took the time to interrogate her, with his subtle, characteristic way.

"Hey, Taylor, what's up lately?"

"Hi Ryan!" the always chic Decathlon Captain returned with a smile. "Oh, there's work and work and more work, always for us. You see, there's a set of difficult equations the team is currently working on. They are so difficult that they say Einstein himself had difficulty solving them. You know it's about the logarithm of pi squared to the tangent of the circle which forms a scalene triangle and according to Newton's Laws of Motion…"

Ryan didn't understand a single thing. He could swear all these were nonsense to him. He knew though, if he played his cards right he could learn what he wanted. Taylor was like an open book: "Well, if you ever have any trouble, I'll be here to help!"

"Thanks, Ryan, that's sweet of you but you're only a B+ in math," Taylor said, sounding like she'd actually called him a super doofus. "On the other hand though, there has been something else troubling me for the past few days. It's Chad. You know, for the last few days he has been pretty distant. I think he doesn't like me anymore. What can I do Ryan? I'm afraid he's cheating on me!"

"I don't think so!" Ryan rushed to say. "You are a lovable girl, Taylor and a very bright one too." Her face was beaming with happiness at the compliment as Ryan went on, "Speaking of Chad, do you know where I could find him? I have to talk with him about something, maybe reminding him to ask a wonderful girl for a date!"

"You will find him, with the rest of the basketball team in that usually empty classroom in the first floor, near the stairs. I'm not permitted to go there because they mostly talk about men's issues, as he said" Taylor giggled. "Thanks, Ryan, you really made my day!"

"Thank you, Taylor" the actor added wittingly and took his way towards the –usually empty- classroom.

* * *

"Can we have the results, please?" Mark asked. "I'm dying to know!"

"Not before we torture you first!" Troy acknowledged. "That would have been too easy!"

"The truth is," Coach Bolton started. "You and Chad were really close. You have both had your good and bad moments throughout the competition and, frankly it was a very difficult choice. Still, one of you had the very edge over the other. Would you both take a minute to talk to us and explain your experiences?"

"Right!" Chad started. "I've been in that position before and I'm very stressed out again. Guys, I really want to win the competition! I try and try and each stage seems more and more difficult, but I really like Sharpay and…"

"What are you talking about?" Mark interrupted, clearly angry. "You are ungrateful! You have Taylor, and she's a very special girl! Guys, seriously, I can't see why we started that competition in the first place. You all, with the possible exception of Zeke, have wonderful girlfriends! I should win. I don't know guys… It doesn't seem right! I quit!"

"You quit?" Troy blurted out. "But… you won this round! You did beat Chad by one vote!"

"I did?" Mark smiled bitterly. "Well, Troy, this would make me happy, very happy otherwise. Sharpay is not a simple crush for me; I really have feelings for her. I sometimes envy you for having girlfriends but what if I am the winner and she doesn't want me to? Have you ever thought of that?"

"Well, there's only one way you will know!" Chad, are relatively remained silent, remarked. "You are still in the race, unlike me. In a way you are right, Mark. Speaking for myself, I should be grateful for having Taylor: she's simply the best. She's smart and classy and funny… We are meant to be together. Still, if the competition started from the beginning, I'd participate again! How can you leave aside all the excitement, the effort? For my part, I just hope my girlfriend never knows I was in this, because that would hurt her unbelievably!"

"Chad is right Mark." Coach Bolton added. "You are known to be a good player and I'd never expect you to quit! On the other hand, since we are all in this, I'd like to ask you not to question anyone's motives as to entering this competition. Each of us is responsible for his choices like…"

"…like in the game. Other than that, we're always a team!" Mark cheered. "Alright, I'm in! Thank you everyone!"

"So, why don't you choose next round's challenge?" Chad laughed. "Our time is almost up!"

"Fine, I'll tell you my idea. It is simple, really, but flexible: **Let her inspire you.**"

"What?" Zeke asked, almost terrified. "That sounds way too girly!"

"Still, it isn't!" Mark defended his idea. "True love means inspiration. The greatest songs and the most classic plays were composed in the name of love. Each man who respects himself has a muse. Coach Bolton said before not to challenge anyone's motives for entering this competition!"

"Fair enough," Troy responded, "that's fine with me. So, I guess what we have to do is… be creative?"

Mark nodded, giving the signal for the end of the team's meeting. The time given would be an entire week again… The basketball players started to exit the class slowly. They chatted among themselves and gave each other ideas. Jack Bolton locked the classroom and left by himself.

No one had paid attention to a male figure by the stairs, who has eavesdropped the whole meeting. He was a tall young man with blond hair wearing very fashionable clothes and a matching fashionable hat. If someone came closer, he could be heard talking to himself: "So, that's what they've been up to… a race! And if I quite understood, my sister is the price! These basketball players certainly got nerve…"

* * *

**Author's Note: **It was a close one that duel between Mark and Chad. Mark had 4 votes to stay while Chad had 2, and two of you would be happy with either result. So, Mark stays while Chad still has Taylor. Ryan on the other hand not only is hard to impress as jade-kwl-name-eva remarked but is now threatening to ruin the competition! Don't get him wrong, though! He's not a villain; he just loves his sister and doesn't want her to be hurt… Maybe he's overprotective, but I'd love to have a brother like Ryan! But then, he is too handsome to be my brother (he could be my boyfriend, if he liked… hehe!) which makes Mario (aka my real brother) quite ok I guess… Just kidding, I love him and I'm a very overprotective sister too! Well, hope to see you soon.


	8. Round 4: Let Her Inspire You

**Round #4: Let Her Inspire You**

It would be the Spring East High's Dance in a week's time, and everyone was talking about that. The Spring Dance was an equivalent to the Senior Prom for the lower grades and this year the teacher in charge was Mrs. Darbus. This explained mainly why the theme of the dance was Masquerade, something that the girls found great and the boys just dreadful.

"So, who are you going with Troy?" Jason asked, as they were taking their seats in the usual classroom, waiting for the fourth round to begin. "Will the lucky one be Gabriella or Sharpay?"

"I don't know," East High's golden boy smiled cunningly. "I guess what it matters the most is to have a good time, even though I'd die to go with Sharpay!"

"I don't know about you guys, but I'm definitely going with Taylor!" Chad beamed. "Since I got out of this competition, I feel her closer to me than ever. It's kind of weird really, but I like it..."

"Alright, boys, I believe everyone's here!" Jack Bolton shouted to motivate the three remaining contestants. The order of speaking will be like this. Troy will have the floor first, Mark will follow and Jason will end the meeting. Then, if you want we can chat like little girls about what we are going to wear at the party!"

"Dad, please! You are just being mean." Troy started, as the first speaker. "Besides, what's wrong about showing our sensitive side? If you can get in touch with your feelings, you are sure to discover your true self. You may wonder why I am taking the introduction. Let me tell you: that's because Sharpay inspired me to write a poem about her!"

"Oh my God, I can't believe that!" Zeke hurled in disbelief and Jason started to laugh, mockingly.

"I just told you all this stuff, so that you could behave like mature men and do not laugh like now…" Troy let out a sigh. What's wrong with poetry, anyway? I think it's rather cool. It's like singing. When I first told you, everybody was laughing but then you saw me performed and you clapped and admired and were proud of your basketball captain! Think of my poem as a song without the music! Here it is. It's titled, Sharpay:

Even though you might be far away,

the wind will always carry out your name.

There is a line between my love and shame

Your perfume it might be –it's you Sharpay."

"I don't get it!" Chad interrupted. "Why is Sharpay's perfume a shame? I think it smells wonderful!"

"It's about how love can be shameful and wonderful at the same time!" Troy explained "And the perfume bit is a synecdoche. Now please, let me finish. Only another verse left.

My heart is full of passion and desire,

which all my being wishes you could see.

Your eyes, deep as an ocean wouldn't be

enough to put out now my inner fire.

"It's quite jolly," Chad finally remarked. "But again what's a sin-, a syne-"

"You mean a synecdoche? Just forget about it." Troy let out another sigh. 'Mark, I believe it's your turn."

"Thank you Troy!" Mark curtsied in front of his fellow basketball players. He carried with him something that looked like –or most correctly something that was- a big, covered canvas. "Guys, I hope you don't laugh but… I present you my masterpiece!"

The canvas was unveiled to present what looked like a modern version of Boticelli's Birth of Venus. There in the cerntre was Sharpay as Aphrodite, even though she wasn't naked, but a Grecian toga covered her body. Instead of standing on a shell, she was standing on a stage, reminding of a Shakespearean performer. Instead of the two flying angels, Ryan was supervising her from a higher lever in the painting and in the position of the woman who gave the goddess clothes was… Mark himself, dressed in very suiting clothes. The colours at the background were pale pink and orange, the colours of the spotlight.

"I call it… the birth of a Diva," Mark declared, proud of himself. "It is supposed to be Broadway and Sharpay is on stage." The others admired.

"This is incredible!" Mr. Bolton finally said. "How did you do this? I didn't know you paint!"

"Oh, I don't, really. This is just a little bit of Photoshop compared with special printing," Mark added modestly. "Still, I like it. And it is art, modern art or electronic, call it whatever you like…"

"I don't know…" Chad expressed doubt. "I like it, but isn't Venus nude in the original?"

Everybody stared at him and Chad got the message. "Ok, got it! Still, I was talking about artistic nude. C'mon guys!"

"Has my turn come yet?" Jason asked then. "If it has come indeed, I'm about to offer you something."

Everyone turned to Jason in disbelief. "What?" Troy asked.

"It's my SSS, the Special Sharpay Smoothie!" Jason cried. "Come on," he revealed a smoothie cart, with drinks that had a slightly pink colour. Come and have a sip!"

Each participant got a glass, and then drank a sip from the smoothie. It had an incredible taste. It certainly contained strawberry, cherry, sugar and maybe the occasional pineapple and peach. Slightly alcoholic, it was delicious indeed and quite refreshing!"

"That's very good work!" Troy admired. "How did you prepare this?"

"I didn't know you had bartender talents!" Coach Bolton added. "This is definitely great!"

"Well, I have a little secret I must tell you," Jason replied modestly. "I enlisted Zeke's help."

Everyone froze. "What? You mean you didn't do it yourself?"

"Actually, no…" Jason revealed, his stare fixed on the floor.

"Alright, I admit, I helped him" Zeke came to his friend's rescue. "After getting out at such an early stage I felt that I wasn't involved enough, and Sharpay has always inspired me. It wouldn't harm, I guess to be just Jason's consultant, but then he was completely useless in the kitchen and I had to give him an awful lot of help. Fine, I confess, the idea was almost mine too!"

"It would have been a good one if you were still in the race," Jack remarked and the others nodded. "I guess the voting, which is about to start now, will be the verdict…"

"It's Jason," Chad said simply. "He didn't do this alone, while at least Troy and Mark did."

"You disappointed me, Jason!" the Coach added. "You could have come up with something original, though the smoothies were really good! I'm voting for you!"

"I'll vote for Troy," Zeke said. "He didn't even tell us what a senecdoche, a synodoche, whatever is…"

"Yeah, what's a synodoche?" Jason asked. "You have my vote too, Troy!"

"For the last time, it is pronounced synecdoche!" Troy protested. "It's a figure in literature when a small part stands for the whole. If you say that you saw her eyes, it means that you saw her, for instance! I'm voting for you, Jason."

"I still don't get it!" Mark laughed. "Whatever, I vote for Jason too. This means I probably am in the final."

"Yes, that's it!" Coach Bolton concluded. "Mark is in the final while the winner between Jason, nominated with 4 votes and Troy, with 2, will join him. That's going to be one hot round!"

"You bet!" Troy remarked funnily. "I'm a veteran in this, while it is Jason's first time… hehe, like a virgin!"

"Don't have it so sure, Bolton!" Jason spotted. "It's the semifinal! Everything can happen!"

It was the semifinal indeed, and there was the question: who was the favourite? The boys quit the classroom once again, as they had basketball practice. Again, they didn't notice that male figure who quickly got away from the door as soon as it opened, hiding behind the stairs… One by one left, Troy first, followed by Mark and Zeke, then Jason and the coach, then Chad.

That's the moment Ryan Evans chose to do an appearance.

"Hi Chad!" he said confidently, as the others were far away. "I'll ask you directly and hope you will answer. You see, I can't be sure if I don't hear it from the horse's mouth!"

"Are you calling me a horse?" Chad tried to delay time, as he understood Ryan had eavesdropped the meeting.

"It's a figure of speech, duh!"

"You mean like the synecdoche?"

"The… what? Whatever, I'm here to let you know I know… And I know you know! So, I ask you once again: what's going on with Sharpay? You'd better tell me, as in that way I'll make sure Taylor never gets to know!"

"Wait a minute, that's blackmailing! That's not ethical!"

"Oh really? Maybe it is ethical then to compete for my sister? Who said, ever that girls are to be treated like prizes? You must all be out of your minds! Why would you do that, ever? Don't you realize how that will hurt her? Listen to me, Danforth, please make sure that these absurdities end… or I don't know what!"

"Okay…" Chad tried to agree. It was no use to defy the Ice King.

"This stupid competition must finish!" Ryan concluded, as he left. He wasn't proud with himself. He had been harsh to Chad, a person he'd love to consider a friend. "What else could I do, though?" he thought to himself. "The show must go on, but this race must get to an end!"

* * *

**Author's Note:** You can start voting again. I have a feeling Troy is a clear favourite, since most of you want to see a Mark vs. Troy finale, including myself. Well, we'll only know the final's pair once you get to vote and then… the real fun begins. As to the "girls are no prizes" theme, I got that from the Suite Life of Zack and Cody, I believe it was episode French 101, but whatever. Thanks once again for the reviews and make sure you vote for the one you want to stay. I vote Troy! 


	9. Deduction: Secrets and Revelations

**Deduction: Secrets and Revelations**

"Yay! It's official. We are going together!" Taylor paraded the halls of East High, sparkling with excitement. "Chad and I are going together to the Spring Dance! He asked me out!"

"That's great news!" Gabriella commented. "But it's not news, anymore. Taylor, you have been talking about that for the last two hours!"

"Isn't it plain great!" the Decathlon captain cried once again. "He has invited me to the Spring Dance."

"Yeah, yeah, whatever…" Gabriella cut her off. She didn't seem very happy.

"What happened?" Kelsi asked. "Are you ok?"

"It's nothing… Troy just hasn't invited me to the Dance yet. I'm kind of melancholic, that's it. I hope he would remember! I told him how important this is for me."

"Now that you mention it," Kelsi let out a sigh. "Jason didn't invite me to that Dance either. He has been acting strange these past few days. Not only has he acted like he doesn't care about me, but the last time he was talking nonsense about a smoothie!"

"I'm sure that blonde bitch is to blame!" Gabriella remarked, showing Sharpay who, once again was isolated, at the other side of the cafeteria. Well, she wasn't exactly isolated, as she was too busy handing out autographs to her fans, which were literally the entire male population of East High.

"Stop being mean, and don't call her like that!" Taylor insisted. "The fact that you had some difficulties in the winter musical and she had to step in for you in almost all of the shows doesn't make her a blonde bitch!"

"No!" Kelsi protested. "Even though I don't approve of Gabriella calling the leading actress in my musical a bitch, then playing nice in front of her, Sharpay might have to do something with Troy's and Jason's behaviour. The other time I was in her car I found something strange, a book that belonged to Jason. She said nothing was wrong, but I am now confused."

"And yesterday, while Troy and I were on a date," Gabriella started, "he addressed me as Sharpay, seriously. At first, he pretended he hadn't said a word, and then went on inventing some weird story on how he thought he'd seen her across the road. Mind my words, Sharpay is a man-eater!"

In the other side of the cafeteria, the blonde was bombarded with offers of going to the Spring Dance by potential partners. More than ten potential partners had even invited her to the Senior Prom! Still, she wasn't happy, you'd better not call her ungrateful, it is just that sometimes, like every girl, she wishes the one who matters, her crush would invite her. And, wouldn't it be great if her crush was her secret admirer, which she might not know at the time who he was, but who apparently knew her very well?

"Hi Sharpay," Evelyn, the cheerleader captain approached the blonde. "What are you up to?"

"Em… signing autographs?" the thespian replied ironically. It was clear the two girls hated each other, continuing the ever-lasting feud for the spotlight between drama queens and cheerleaders.

"I was just wondering who you are going to the Spring Dance with. Rumour has it a certain basketball player has a real crush on you and will ask you to know together."

"Really?" Sharpay's face brightened. "Who is it?"

"Oh, I don't remember! For the record, I'm hoping about asking your brother Ryan, to come with me…"

"Don't you ever say that again, girl!" Sharpay warned, changing her tone to an angry one. Why did she say that, really? Oh, no she became overprotective with her twin too! Or, the picture of her brother with a shallow and vain cheerleader made her quite uncomfortable.

"Ha, got you! I'm just kidding. Why should I ask some hat weirdo to come with me? He's cute, but guys like Troy Bolton and Mark Sindall are way hotter. Maybe one of them will agree to join me!"

As the head cheerleader left, Sharpay couldn't but help feeling a little uncomfortable. That girl had absolutely no right to call her brother a hat weirdo. Still, what had hurt the most was that little comment about Troy Bolton and Mark Sindall…

* * *

"And so, he knows!" Chad concluded at the team's meeting. "This means, we're screwed for good. He wants this competition to end." 

"But we can't!" Mark urged. "The competition is close to finishing indeed! Look what we've done, so far because of him. In order for Mr. Sneaky not to spy on us, we've changed the location of our meetings!"

The Wildcats looked once more around them. They were not in their usual classroom near the stairs but… in the supplies locker for the cleaners. It was rather uncomfortable, but Ryan couldn't spot them here, at least.

"Again, I've got a question," Zeke remarked. "Even though I didn't know cleaner's supplies closets were so big, how come six people can get in at the same time?"

Nobody took the time to answer. "You are hurting my elbow!" Jason cried instead, even though it wasn't clear who he addressed.

"Relax, boys," Jack tried to calm down the spirits. "It probably is our last meeting. "Because I understand you want it to be short and sweet, let's try to be quick with it. That doesn't mean we'll skip the how-do-you-feel routine we've established at the past meetings!"

"Alright, I start first," Jason said. "It's the first time I'm in this position, and frankly I'm not stressed at all. I tried and I did my best, but if I don't win, that's fine with me. After all, I have to invite someone in the Spring Dance. I hoped it would be Sharpay but Kelsi is sweet and funny too."

"Oh my God, the Spring Dance!" Troy realized. "Gabriella has told me a zillion times how important this is for her and… great, I'm dead. Still, I don't want to go with Gabriella half as much as I want to go with Sharpay. You may believe that I'm just a wannabe Casanova with girls but I have feelings for her!"

"Fine," Mark was about to announce the results. "Jason, I believe that you should ask Kelsi to the Dance. Troy, congratulations! You'll join me in the final, where everything is possible."

"This time, Troy" Coach Bolton said, "you won't choose the theme. We want a final round fair and square. Traditionally, in such competitions the final round has one plain task: **Kiss the girl**. There won't be any time limit and there won't be any voting. Whoever kisses Sharpay first gets Sharpay. It's as easy as that."

"Easy? That's not easy at all!" Mark and Troy remarked in unison.

"You'll have to make a good plan. Years ago, when I was competing for Lenora, it was my strategy that didn't help. Not to frighten you, people, but after that loss I met my wife! See you!" Jack opened the cleaner's cupboard and everyone went out.

Jason rushed to the cafeteria, the drama kids table. He was sure he would find Kelsi there. For some strange reason, losing was not as bad as it seemed. Well, maybe that proved that Sharpay was out of his league but who cared? Kelsi was just the sweetest short person he knew!

"Kelsi, will you come to the Spring Dance with me?" It was as simple as that.

"I'm not Kelsi," a voice replied. Jason opened his eyes. Crap! He shouldn't have closed them in the first place. That love magic was to blame! Great, now he had invited Ryan Evans to the Spring Dance.

"Have you seen Kelsi?" Jason asked at last.

"I'll tell you where she is, if you tell me what you were up to. Actually, I know what you were up to, so your task is easier: just keep me updated."

"Why should I tell you?"

"Because if you don't," Ryan shook his head. "I'll tell Kelsi everything. I'm sorry Jason, but I have no other choice."

Jason bit his lip. After all, he had taken an oath not to tell anyone about the competition. Still, he wanted to go out to the Spring Dance with Kelsi so badly, he found it difficult to resist. Plus, Ryan seemed to know, which meant that technically he was out of trouble.

"Only Mark and Troy remain in the competition," he finally muttered. "Their last task is to kiss Sharpay! And whoever succeeds the first is the winner."

"Thanks, Jason," Ryan smiled. "I knew you'd cooperate. Kelsi is in the piano room; she practices with Sharpay and a couple of other girls a song. Go find her now!"

Jason rushed to the piano room, while Ryan left alone in his thoughts. He had a plan…

* * *

**Author's **Note: So, this is the newest chapter. Sorry I didn't make an update yesterday but these are busy days… You see, I'm having my graduation ceremony tomorrow. Yep, bye bye high school, Hello College! And, I'm class Salutatorian, so… yay me! Whatever, I'll try to update once again today or tomorrow. The winner will be announced in two chapters, so start voting. Who do you want to win Sharpay's heart: Mark or Troy? Tell me! Also, the funniest review this time belonged to Christy (chris tea xx). It was absolutely hilarious! 


	10. Twist: Ryan's Plan

**Twist: Ryan's Plan**

"Tonight is the Spring Dance," Ryan spoke out at breakfast in awe, making a great realization.

"Yeah right, it is," Sharpay replied back, "So what?"

"Who are you going with, children?" Eva, the housecleaner inquired. Since Mr. and Mrs. Evans worked endlessly, the kind lady was like a member of the family for the twins, who confessed all their secrets to her.

"No one, really…" Sharpay let out a sigh. "Well, I'd better get ready for school!" she added, getting up from the table and rushing into her room.

Ryan was left alone, in the discreet presence of Eva. Of course, tonight was a great opportunity for the final to take place. It was a fancy dress party, which would make matters so much easier! In fact, he could lay an eye on Sharpay the entire night, and made sure nobody approached her. It would be a disaster, Mark and Troy would be discouraged and the stupid race would finally finish!

In a flashback, the previous night's events came to his mind. As Sharpay was talking to the phone, he had sneaked into her room. What he had done was trivial and below him, but he had read the last entries in her diary. His worst suspicions had come to life. The so-called Sharpay's crush was still in the competition! He had also found some entries on a strange "secret admirer" who had brought her a pair of earrings and had been her on a musical-themed date.

Ryan would become, for one night, his sister's secret admirer. Knowing her and the fact he was mentioned in the diary meant that Sharpay hoped her secret admirer was in fact her secret crush! He had not wasted any time. He had written an anonymous letter, hoping to leave it in her locker today.

"Dear Sharpay, it's hard to believe that I couldn't see you were always there besides me. It must sound cheesy, using that song you sang in the winter auditions as a quote but the impression of you and your brother (Ryan made sure Sharpay didn't suspect him writing the letter) is deeply etched on my memory. I've been a fan of your performances since always. Can you be my lucky star and come with me to the Spring Dance tonight? If yes, meet me outside the cafeteria at 8:20. Love, your secret admirer that hopes to meet you, xxx"

He was proud of himself. That A in English hadn't been for nothing. If he was no actor, Ryan could have joined the writers' club. Still, Eva's voice brought him back to reality.

"So, who are you going to the Dance with?"

"No one special, either," he replied, crossing his fingers. "I might turn up with some friends from the drama club." He avoided Eva's gaze, as he knew she could tell when he was lying. He hated doing this. But after all, it was for Sharpay's good, wasn't it?

* * *

Sharpay seemed delighted, as she joined Taylor, Kelsi and Gabriella at the cafeteria. All of the girls were sparkling with happiness but Gabriella who looked actually depressed. The four girls looked at the basketball table and gossiped about the players. 

"I'm so going to have the best time ever!" Taylor acknowledged. "Chad and I… it will be fun!"

"And Jason, he's just so sweet!" Kelsi exclaimed. "You won't believe it girls, but he said he loves me!"

"No one has still to ask me out…" Gabriella muttered thinking about Troy. Everyone was happy, including her blonde antagonist. Sharpay's face was brighter than the sun, at this point. Gabriella was sure she was going out with Troy. She had never particularly liked Sharpay and she believed she didn't like her either.

After singing "We're All in This Together," she wasn't fooled. The blonde had kept her Ice Princess behaviour and she wasn't happy to lose the lead role. At the time, Gabriella thought she'd scored a victory, but then she was replaced by the blonde in mostly all performances because of "poor acting skills," as Darbus had discovered.

"Gabby, are you alright?" Sharpay beamed with kindness, but to Gabriella all this was hypocritical and shallow. In some way Sharpay was associated with Troy not asking her to the Dance, she just knew it! "Don't worry, someone will ask you too! Look what I found in my locker today!"

Gabriella read Ryan's note. It wasn't Troy's handwriting, but still she didn't like it. Still, she had to fake her answer. "Wow! Looks like someone is really in love with you…" she regarded.

"Look, I have no formal escort," Sharpay added. "Since you are one of my best friends would you like to go together? You may find your Mr. Perfect there!"

It wasn't a bad idea. Gabriella would have said no, but then, it would be a good chance to keep an eye on Sharpay. Yep, why not? She nodded.

"So, what are you going to dress as tonight, Sharpay?" a voice came from the table across where the basketball kids sat. In fact, it was Mark's but Troy was interested in the answer too. As Ryan had predicted, the two finalists had planned to fulfill their last task, kissing Sharpay, the night of the Dance.

"I can't tell you, it is a secret!" Sharpay hurled loudly for the basketball players to hear. "I never tell what I wear in fancy dress parties. Only Ryan knows that tonight I'll be dressed as the Ice Queen and I'll wear a crown! Oops, that slipped!"

"What did she say, again?" Mark asked Troy. "There's far too much noise in the cafeteria."

"She did mention something about Ryan knowing," Troy affirmed. "Let's ask him, because otherwise we won't be able to spot her! Hey Ryan, come here a sec!"

"What is it?" Sharpay's brother had observed the whole scene and looked amused. Another idea started to form in his mind. "What do you want exactly?"

"Did you hear what Sharpay said?" Troy whispered. "What will she wear?"

Ryan had heard and knew perfectly well what his sister had said. Still, he thought it would be funny if he paraphrased a little just to disorientate Troy and Mark more. "She'll go as the Ice Queen and she'll wear brown."

"Thank you, pal, you're awesome," Mark affirmed, unaware of Ryan's Machiavellian attitude.

* * *

"Wow, what's that suitcase you brought here, Sharpay?" Taylor asked in awe. The girls had assembled in Gabriella's house in order to get prepared for the Dance. "That thing is huge!" 

"It's just where I keep my makeup equipment," Sharpay admitted quite modestly.

"You mean your personal makeup equipment?" Gabriella's eyes opened wide. She wasn't sure if she wanted to invite Sharpay to prepare for the Dance with the other girls, but at least the blonde was an expert on beauty topics. "You could makeup an entire army with that stuff!"

"So, that's why I brought it here!" Sharpay said happily. "Who else is coming?"

"Kelsi will be here at any second, Jenna and Fiona from the Academic Decathlon Club, Olivia from the cheerleaders and Angelique, Desiree and Martina from the Drama Club. These three will be familiar faces to you, right?"

"Right," Sharpay said. "I might have a lot of work wit this kit! So, girls what will you dress as?"

"I'm going to be a fairy!" Taylor cheered proudly.

"And I'm going as a… surprise, wildcat!" Gabriella added.

Time seemed to pass so quickly. The girls came, got dressed, got their beauty treatments, laughed, gossiped, and were offered valuable advice by Sharpay. Then, they practiced their dance moves, gossiped a little more this time about boys and finally added the last touches. Jenna, Fiona and Olivia got back home since they would go to the dance with her boyfriends, and Angelique, Desiree and Martina would go together. Finally, Taylor and Kelsi said good buy too, as Chad and Jason would be waiting for them.

Both Sharpay and Gabriella looked beautiful, each in their own unique way. The blonde grabbed the keys to her Porsche and entered the car. The brunette followed. She looked in the mirror, everything was right.

"Hey, you forgot something!" she told Sharpay the lat minute.

"What is it now?" the actress frowned. "Come on, we don't want to be late, only fashionably late!"

"You forgot your mask. Here it is," Gabriella added, handing the other girl the accessory.

"Thanks, doesn't it match my dress?" Sharpay admired and started driving to East High.

Indeed, the mask matched Sharpay's dress perfectly. It was white, and so was the entire outfit. Ryan couldn't have disorientated Troy and Mark more, when he told them she would be wearing brown… It would be a tough final for the two contestants… or wouldn't there be any final at all?

* * *

**Author's Note:** So far, Troy has the very edge. That can change though! And when one wins, I won't leave the other sad, I promise! In the next chapter, Zeke will have a pleasant surprise too. I couldn't see him alone, so I'll give him a surprise pairing. It is an OC, really, if you can guess correctly you are great, since I haven't been elaborating on my OCs in that story, but rather mentioning that there are other kids in that school besides the gang… I graduated yesterday, so this is why I didn't update. PS: Christy, thank you once again for making me smile. You made your point clear! Stessa, thanks for all of the reviews, I support Mark too... Everyone else, thank you... you rock! 


	11. The Final: Kiss the Girl

**The Final: Kiss the Girl**

The music was right, the atmosphere was right, the party was right. Sharpay Evans was the luckiest girl in the world. It had taken her ages to lose Gabriella to the crowd, come to the meeting point she had seen on the letter and meet at last her secret admirer. Sharpay couldn't see his face for it was dark and he was wearing a mask, as the Spring Dance was a ball masque. She had drunk enough champagne to be cheerful and the atmosphere around her seemed to be blended.

Still, something about her secret admirer looked very familiar. It could have been his voice. It could have been the way he stood. It could have been the way his hands were moving as he spoke. Sharpay couldn't tell. At first she was too preoccupied to guess who her crush was, but then she relaxed and enjoyed their unique date. It was so great. She felt like she'd known the man near her for ever.

Hmm… could it be Zeke? No, Sharpay had seen him with her adversary, Evelyn the cheerleader captain. In a way, she was happy for him. Sharpay had never really liked Zeke, but the way she was treating him was harsh for even her standards. Now, he seemed to have gone over his crush… Could it be Jason or Chad? Nope, they were together with Kelsi and Taylor. Then, could it be Oliver or Martin from the Drama Club? Neither, as she had spotted them somewhere too… The only people remaining were Troy and Mark. Could it be one of them?

"So, what are you dressed up?" Ryan asked. Everything was going according to plan. Being company to his sister wasn't very difficult. The tough part was to compliment or speak to her like he was in love. This could get really embarrassing. After all, she was his sister and under normal circumstances the scene would seem gross. Other than that, he enjoyed her company.

"I'm the Ice Queen, can't you see?" Sharpay replied playfully, making a graceful turn and a curtsy. "What are you dressed up as?"

"I'm the Emperor… from the tarot cards," he replied.

Sharpay laughed. "You seem more like… a pirate to me. So, it's the tarot then. Do you believe in fate?"

"Yes, I do," Ryan responded, unsure of what to say.

"You are a great dancer…" the blonde commented, as they were swirling across the cafeteria which had been transformed into a dance floor. "You are way better than my brother at rehearsals and he's like professional. I believe in fate too. It was meant to be… you and me… tonight…"

Ryan bit his lip. He felt extremely uncomfortable not because Sharpay mentioned him but because he realized that his own sister was getting in love with him. What could he do? Suddenly, the plan didn't seem like a good idea. He made the quick decision. He would stick to it, hoping that everything would be fine. But hope, of course doesn't make anything guaranteed.

"I want to see your face," Sharpay added with a flare of passion in her voice. "I want us to kiss."

"I don't think that's a very good idea…" Ryan remarked, but as they were dancing he couldn't get away from her. With terror, he saw his sister leaning closer, her lips coming to meet his lips. She stayed there for a really long passionate smooch which seemed like eternity. The plan had backfired, and Ryan stood frozen. This made easier for Sharpay to pull the mask off him, and to see –at last- the face of her secret admirer.

* * *

Troy stumbled across Mark in the middle of the dance floor. They exchanged mutual glares, and this could only mean one thing: neither had found Sharpay yet.

Mark was the first to calm down. "Relax, Troy. I haven't seen her either. Gosh, I checked everywhere, spoke to every girl with a brown dress but she is not to be found anywhere. Mate, I believe that for a moment we should set our differences apart and collaborate, just in the sake of locating her…"

"You're right," Troy nodded. "Let the best one win, Markey!"

"I hate it when you call me that! Stop, Troey… well, whatever! You are lucky; 'Troey' doesn't sound right!"

"I know. Listen, Markey, I mean Mark, I noticed something. Sharpay said she was going to be dressed as the Ice Queen, right? Right," Troy answered for himself. "Since when do Ice Queens prefer brown over white?"

Mark thought for a second. "I get your point. For some reason, Ryan tricked us. He knows about the race. He has already confronted Chad and I'm pretty sure he has confronted Jason too."

"Apparently," Troy agreed. "What you believe we should do now?"

"Find her, somehow. Hey, Troy I have an idea. It might be stupid but since we got that far, it may actually work. So, we try together to locate Sharpay. Then, when we find her we race towards her. The first one to approach her, kisses her, and wins her heart. Agreed?"

"I think so. I don't have any better ideas!" Troy smiled. "So, how do we locate her?"

A scream then was heard from the other side of the room. It was the same scream that Troy and Mark had heard some time ago at the mention of callbacks. They could have recognized that voice anywhere.

"On a second thought," Troy added, "locating Sharpay might not be that difficult."

* * *

"You are a pervert! You are despicable! I hate you!"

"Sharpay let me explain-"

"Explain, what? Explain maybe that you were my secret admirer all along? Explain why on Earth I kissed my brother? Explain why I was humiliated in front of the whole school? This is plain gross, Ryan, and frankly if you do want to explain, you've got some serious work to do!"

Sharpay was definitely making a huge scene. Half of the East High student population was looking towards the Evans twins, who had gotten rid of their masks and were yelling at each other, in what seemed as an epic sibling fight. Ryan looked really depressed as Sharpay was scolding him. He knew she was right.

"Sorry, Shar. I did it for you," he finally blurted out. "I didn't want you to get hurt!"

"Hurt, of course I'm hurt!" Sharpay cried. "How else should I take it? My own brother is in love with me! I was stupid not to see, not after these beautiful presents, the earrings with the rhinestones forming my initials and our Phantom of the Opera date. I mean, you obviously know this is my favourite musical of all time! I don't believe it!"

"Shar, I repeat, it wasn't me! I faked your secret admirer just for tonight! I don't know who brought you this presents, you hope it was that basketball boy, don't you? You know Sharpay… there is a race going on, with a prize and contestants…"

"Ryan, your obsession with that freaking show, So You Think You Can Dance is irrelevant. I don't see how it relates to the problem! You are never going to take part in it. They won't accept you. Get over it. Get over me!"

"I'm not in love with you, for the millionth time!" Some of the unwanted spectators seemed highly amused, as they thought of this as another well rehearsed comic scene from the dramatic duo. "And I was not referring to talent shows. I was talking about the basketball team! You won't let me explain!"

"Why would I? You kissed me, for God's sake!"

"May I remind you that you were the one who kissed me, and wouldn't let me go?"

"Yep, but this is because you waned to seduce me by having a nice time together!"

It wasn't getting anywhere. In the meanwhile, in the other side of the room, Mark and Troy were on their marks running towards the situation. That was the final, the moment they would be waiting for. Unaware of the drama going on, they started running with a simple objective: to kiss Sharpay. Funnily enough, the dance song changed at that moment, and the Ashley Tisdale's lovely voice filled the East High's corridors.

There you see her  
Sitting there across the way  
She don't got a lot to say  
But there's something about her  
And you don't know why  
But you're dying to try  
You wanna kiss the girl

Yes, you want her  
Look at her, you know you do  
Possible she wants you too  
There is one way to ask her  
It don't take a word  
Not a single word  
Go on and kiss the girl

Sha la la la la la  
My oh my  
Look like the boy too shy  
Ain't gonna kiss the girl  
Sha la la la la la  
Ain't that sad?  
Ain't it a shame?  
Too bad, he gonna miss the girl

So quickly everything occurred, Sharpay didn't understand a thing. The one moment she was in the middle of a sibling fight… The next second –smooch! - she was sharing a passionate kiss with Mark Sindall...

* * *

**Author's Note:** The voting is over as of 8.00 pm GMT, Wed, 11 July. (Hehe, I made that more official!) Here are Troy's supporters: doodleswriter357, chris tea xx, BlueEyedGirl19, Gorgeous Nick Stokes, xamyxjx, fibi3, littlewhitelie91, TroypayZashley. This gives him 8 votes. Here are Mark's supporters: countingsheep, MiseryluvsDeath aka Fidele, charmed4eva112, jade-kwl-name-eva, Stessa, Stargatecrazy, Regina Bianca del Mare Azzuro (yep, that's the author, me!). That makes it 7 votes. A general comment: that was really close. Markpay (or Shark… that was a great comment, XD) fans I hope won't be disappointed, but this is ending as a Troypay. Still, as you see from this chapter, even though the end is close… nothing is finished! 


	12. Solution: And the Winner Is

**Solution: And the Winner Is…**

"I won, I won, I won!" Mark cried with excitement, as a stunned Sharpay looked at him in disbelief. "I am the winner!"

"What are you talking about?" Sharpay asked, clearly frustrated. "And why on Earth did you kiss me?"

"It's all about the race I was trying to warn you about!" Ryan intervened.

"Oh, shut up Ryan! You are in serious need of a girlfriend! Mark, I demand an explanation!"

"You see, Sharpay," Troy who had finally come close, if second. "Mark is kind of your official boyfriend now. We, in the basketball team agreed to have a race. You know, we had tasks and such: give you presents, take you out on a date, and confront your brother… In each round we held voting procedures and one contestant at a time were eliminated."

"You know, we all thought you were just the hottest," Mark confessed. "You are beautiful, and a great actress and fun, and –I guess- you were out of reach. That's why we did it. At least that's why I did it. And so we are, Troy and I in the final race. And I won, because I kissed you, which was the final task."

It was a comical scene really, since everybody was staring at Troy, Mark, Ryan and Sharpay now. Considering that Mark was dressed as a magician and Troy as a medieval king, it was a rather funny time for explanations. Sharpay was left speechless, her face buried into her arms.

"See Shar?" Ryan whispered. "See I was right? I did all this for you not to get hurt, but I guess I couldn't prevent it. Don't cry, please!"

But Sharpay wasn't crying. She could have clearly ignored Ryan's words, but instead she sunk into his comforting hug. "I'm sorry I didn't listen to you bro. I was hurt. Troy, Mark… how many of you were in the race?" she muttered finally.

"Zeke…" Troy and Mark started.

"How could you!" a scream was heard somewhere in the background and everyone saw Evelyn, Sharpay's adversary and head cheerleader, slapping poor Zeke, who was dressed up as a chef. "You had me! Why did you want to go out with that bitch! It's over for us, Zeke, and no crème brulee will heal this!"

"I'm ashamed to say so, but Troy's dad was in that too. He was your secret admirer." Mark went on.

An ooh came from the crowd. Sharpay looked like she was about to faint. Coach Bolton, who was supervising the Dance as a teacher felt his cheeks turn red. Unluckily for him, Lucille Bolton was also a teacher in East High. "Jack, I'd never believe it, you chasing little girls! This is illegal, you know," she said disappointed, slowly but with a stable voice. "I'm afraid I can't trust you any more. I want a divorce."

"Chad... and then Jason," Troy concluded by admitting further.

At the same time, Taylor and Kelsi stepped away from their dates. "What do you find in her, Chad? She isn't an intellectual. I don't trust you!" the Academic Decathlon Captain reacted while Kelsi covered her eyes with her palms. "I never expected it from you Jason! Wasn't I enough?"

So, the drama… What would happen next? The answer gave a clearly sad Gabriella, who stepped out of the crowd faced Troy and Sharpay and spoke in a loud voice.

"I knew something was going on, something that wasn't right about you Troy and I knew Sharpay was involved. Still, I thought she was to blame. I thought she tried to take you away from me, because yes, I know how much she loved you. Troy Bolton, you were Sharpay Evans' secret crush. She never told me, but I knew it from the way she looked at you, the way she pronounced your name…"

"You women are good," Ryan admired. "It took me ages to find out and I had to get her diary in secret!"

Sharpay gave her brother an angry, warning glare and gave the signal to Gabriella to keep on.

"Still, Sharpay was a good friend. She never told me, so I wouldn't get hurt. She offered me fashion and relationship advice when I cursed her under my breath. She asked me to come with her tonight to that Dance because I had no escort and she wanted me to feel better. Sharpay, I'm really, really sorry! On the other hand, you Troy, and I had complete faith in you, disappointed me in the worst way. It was not Sharpay chasing after you, you were chasing after Sharpay!"

The blonde couldn't have any more of that. "Please, everyone, stop! I don't believe it how you got this idea about the race in the first place! What do you think I am some kind of prize to be won? Then, what if I didn't like the winner? I would really respect it if you came directly to me and said you had a crush, the good old-fashioned way! To be honest, I don't know how I'd react, but it would be preferable to this!"

Sharpay sighed then resumed after a brief pause. "Whatever. Since it turned out to be that way, could I have the chance to speak to Mark, the winner of this so-called competition in private?"

Mark nodded. Sharpay took his hand and they crossed the dance floor to find themselves in the corridor, and then an empty classroom, the same classroom where the basketball team was gathered when they had their infamous meetings… They didn't talk to each other, until they sat down.

"It is a most weird day today," Sharpay broke the silence. "First I get to kiss my own brother, and then I share a kiss with you… I wonder what will come next!"

"Sharpay, I love you," Mark interrupted her abruptly. "I just didn't want to tell you in front of all these gossip-obsessed people. I only joined this thing because I would get a chance to be closer to you. I really had one of the best performances out there because I really wanted us to be together! Everything was going fine except, you know, that time I sent you to the hospital."

Sharpay giggled. "I remember. I got your card."

Another abrupt paused full of silence occurred. Sharpay smiled at Mark, looked at him in the eyes and said. "I knew how you felt about me long before I read that card. You are just the greatest Mark…."

"I know… but I'm not the right one for you, am I?"

"I would never lie to you. The only wrong place, wrong time was in the movie Casablanca. And, believe me, Mark, you are not the wrong person at all. I feel lucky to have known you. You are the best friend ever. I'm not that lame to believe that our relationship will now stay the say, but I'm lame enough to hope for it."

Mark smiled. "No problem, Sharpay. I can't say no to you! And though I really like you, I can't admit that Troy loves you too. He just didn't want to hurt Gabriella's feelings. This is why he never told you. He was a very good rival, I must admit. He excelled in all the tasks but I only realized ho much he loved you when I saw him running to kiss you. He was just so quick! Now, I'm a good runner, but he is just better. Now, you may wonder why I am dressed as a magician but I don't have a hat. Truth is, I dropped in front of him it so he would lose his balance and maybe fell off. He was slowed down for not more than a couple of seconds, but it was enough for me to come and kiss you."

"Wow! That's a shock!" Sharpay remarked. "I mean, that's just one of the many shocks I've been through today!"

"I cheated, Sharpay. And we'd once made a deal, whoever cheats will be immediately disqualified. So, the truth is I'm no real winner. Troy is. Why don't you go and find him, to tell him that."

Sharpay's eyes were filled with gratitude. "Thank you Mark!" she said finally, as she got up quickly. "I was a disappointment for you, but at least I think that you are a very good kisser!" She leaned once again close to him and gave him another quick kiss on the lips, but it was more of a friendly peck. "Now I don't know why I did that. It must be the effect of that crazy day! Don't tell Troy though and don't expect anything like this, at least in the near future!"

Mark sighed, as Sharpay rushed to leave. If you love something, then let it go, isn't that what they say? He watched Sharpay run in her high heels. Wow, that must be very difficult, he thought to himself.

The blonde searched every corridor until she reached the cafeteria's dance floor once more. "Where's Troy?" she asked her brother out of breath. "I think he left," Ryan responded solemnly. Sharpay made a dramatic exit out of the East High, as everyone had resumed dancing and having a good time. It seemed that the previous scene was over for good, well, except for the basketball team.

"Troy, at last!" she spotted him in the distance. "Troy?"

"Hey, Sharpay, is that you?" the boy asked, without even turn to look at her.

"Yes, you silly! That's me! Oh look! It started raining!" she remarked casually.

"It is a little spring rain" Troy replied back. "What, are you afraid it will melt your icy heart?"

"Why are you talking to me this way?" Sharpay whispered, her hands starting to tremble. "I love you, Troy!"

"I love you too, Sharpay… but this isn't going to be right! You saw everyone. You saw Gabriella's face."

Sharpay stayed silent. She wanted to scream at Troy. But you don't love her! You love me! For once in your life, Troy Bolton, take an initiative! Come to me, you fool! But of course, she said nothing. Instead she turned her back at him and headed back to East High. "The show must go on…" she only whispered.

Troy watched her going back into the rain. Only then he realized what he was doing, how stupid he was acting. He shouldn't let her go away, he just couldn't. With two steps he approached her, put his hand on her shoulder and as she turned in surprise, he became the third person to kiss her on that night. This time though, it was deep, it was mutual, it was love.

And the rain continued to fall, more heavily…

* * *

**Author's Note:** You have no complaints, I hope! That (big) chapter had it all: the drama, the romance, the surprises… Stay tuned, as I will upload, most likely tomorrow, the ending chapter of this story. In that ending, I'll give the reviewer awards for this story, because all loyal reviewers should be awarded! Without you, this story wouldn't have been the same! It was so open, anyone could have won. But I guess a proper ending is needed. We don't want to leave Zeke, Chad and Jason disappointed, do we? We don't want Troy's parents to divorce either. As to Mark, our second favourite, I could never, never leave him depressed… 


	13. Operation: Happy End

**Operation: Happy End**

"I love you!" Troy whispered to Sharpay's ear.

"I love you more," she said, and leaning closer to him, she kissed him once more.

"Wow! Does that mean I am the third guy for you today? I mean, you kissed Ryan, then Mark and now its me!" Troy made an attempt to joke. "Maybe you should start a kissing booth!"

"Oh, shut up you silly! You've always been the one and only!" Sharpay cried, and kissed Troy again.

Mark could see from the window of the empty classroom two figures in the distance leaning closer and share happy moments, unbothered by the rain. He was sure it was Troy and Sharpay. He kept on watching, a little melancholic until he saw the silhouettes moving away and away. Why should they come back, anyway? Mark had never felt more alone. Going back to the Dance room could not heal him, but it could as well be a consolation.

As he walked across a corridor, he felt he stumbled upon someone. "I'm sorry," he gasped as his gaze met Gabriella's. He then realized that he was looking at her for the very first time. His mind had been so preoccupied with Sharpay that he didn't have time to notice any other girls. So… that was the infamous ex-girlfriend of Troy Bolton! She wasn't bad looking at all, with her short brown her, her sweet almost innocent eyes and her lovely smile… Well, she wasn't smiling right now, but Mark could imagine.

No! What was he thinking! His mind and heart would for always be devoted to Sharpay! Still, as he gazed into Gabriella's dreamy eyes –and she was looking back at him- he had that bittersweet feeling… Were his feelings for Sharpay so shallow, that they faded off when he saw Gabriella? Should he accuse himself of what he had previously accused Troy and the others: that their crush was not true? Mark didn't care. After all, Sharpay had rejected him and getting over her was at least… healthy.

"Are we going to talk or what?" Gabriella finally interrupted his thoughts, in a rather harsh way. "I already feel humiliated and having you staring at me like that sends shivers down my spine!"

"I feel that way too!" Mark confessed. After all, there might exist justice for the broken hearted. "Look, Gabriella, you must be mad at me, since I was with Troy in all this but-"

"Mad? I'm no mad at you at all, Mark! Why should I? You had no girlfriend when you entered that race? You behaved, unlike Troy, like a true gentleman!"

"You are being a little harsh on Troy. I just believe he couldn't appreciate what he had…"

"You really think so?" Gabriella's face brightened up.

"Yes, I do. You are a great girl, Gabby! What do you say? It's the Spring Dance. Everything can happen and the magic's still on! Will you join me to the dance floor?"

"Sure!" Gabriella replied excitingly. "Let's seize the chance. "Oh, Mark… thanks!"

Somewhere else in the room, Chad was chasing a furious Taylor. "At least listen to me! It was all a stupid game! You know how men are, right. Taylor, I swear to you, when I got eliminated it was a relief. I missed you so terribly, I was glad to quit! Taylor, have I ever told you… I love you?"

"You what?" Taylor asked, stunned.

"I love you! You are beautiful and elegant and smart and you bring out the best in me. Sharpay is a sore loser compared to you!"

"You really believe that?" Taylor raised an eyebrow. "I'm glad to hear that Chad. I feel the same, and in that way, I may be able to give you a second chance."

"Yes!" Chad jumped in the air. At the same time, in another corner of the very same cafeteria, a similar scene took place, as Jason was confessing his love to Kelsi, or to be more accurate, singing it.

"It's hard to believe… that I couldn't see, you were always there besides me. This feeling's like no other. I want you to know I've never had someone that knows me like you do… I've never had someone as good for me as you, no one like you. So lonely before, I finally found what I've been looking for!"

"Hehe…" Kelsi seemed amused. "I didn't know you were tone deaf, Jason!"

Jason looked disappointed. "It's no use. First I make you feel terrible, and then I ruin your song!"

"You didn't ruin that song! Quite on the contrary, you grasped its real purpose. Neither Troy nor Ryan could have been more true to the lyrics… Thank you Jason. I believe I'll forgive you. After all, you are the music in me!"

"Of course I am, my little Sondheim!" Jason exclaimed, grasping Kelsi so she couldn't escape his hug.

Still, for some, things were not as easy. Zeke felt like the biggest looser. Sharpay didn't like him, it was obvious. The just as beautiful Evelyn didn't even want to see him, because he had had a crush on her feud. Now Zeke walked alone and while anyone else had fun at the party, he seemed depressed and disappointed.

"Hey Zeke, is that you?" he heard a voice. He turned behind to see a petite girl who he identified as Sabrina the cheerleader. Wait, wasn't she who had a crush on him?

"Hey, Sabrina! Want to dance?"

"Of course I do! That's why I am here! As it seems, I thankfully am the first! A whole army of your fans are coming to ask you for a dance including fellow cheerleaders like Olivia Gladstone and that hip-hopper Martha Cox! I'm so happy I got you first!"

Zeke smiled. Maybe he was a ladies' man after all, and Sabrina seemed, for a change very sweet. It wouldn't hurt to give her a chance. One by one, the basketball players were getting out of this in a most happy way. Still, there was a couple arguing on the room, Troy's parents.

"Leave me alone, Jack! You are just a pervert. How could you? I mean she's a little girl! She's a teenager. She's underage! Did you secretly peek at her when she was undressing in the changing rooms before your class?"

"You are pushing things too far, Lucille! I told you I was sorry! It was all a meaningless game to me. I just wanted to prove to these boys that I'm not finished, and that I can teach them a thing or more about women. I now see that was stupid!"

"Thankfully, you can recognize that! I don't know, I really don't know what keeps me with you now…"

"It's our life together, our true love and Troy!" Jack said and Lucille seemed content with the answer.

"Still," the coach went on, "I have to admit that I like Troy's current girlfriend more than this Gabriella. At least the Drama girl doesn't distract him from practice!"

Everybody was happy, right? As Mrs. Darbus who had organized the dance stood up, everyone waited impatiently to hear the great outcome: who would be the Spring Dance Prince and Princess?"

"The Spring Dance Prince is… Troy Bolton!" the drama teacher exclaimed. Applauses were heard and a dramatic pause occurred before announcing Troy's partner.

"And the Spring Dance Princess is… Sharpay Evans!" Everyone applauded again and turned their eyes in the crowd, wanting to see the winners. But… where were they? They were nowhere to be scene. Well, no problem. Mrs. Darbus raised her shoulders and the couples kept on slow dancing in the tune of "When a Man Loves a Woman." Still, somewhere far away…

"Sharpay, who do you think won the award of the Spring Dance Prince and Princess?" Troy asked as they were gazing at the sky, counting the stars.

"I don't know and I don't care!" she replied, clenching her nails in him, like she didn't want him to go away. "What only matters is that we're here… together!" And, as monotonous as this sounds, she kissed him for the millionth time in a night.

* * *

They had been dating for one month. Troy and Sharpay were East High's "it" couple. Mark and Gabriella were dating too. Ryan had finally made peace with his sister, and respected her need to have a boyfriend. Still, the topic of the days wasn't love but the upcoming premiere of the Spring Musical. 

"Girls, girls please!" Sharpay yelled. "We need to have that ready for tomorrow night and you dance like amateurs! Angelique and Desiree, what happened? You used to be so magnificent! Gretchen, that was absolutely mediocre! Martina and Florence, I don't believe you forgot the steps!"

"What my sister tries to tell is…" Ryan started. "We're leaving you a whole hour to practice. When we get back, you'd better know these steps…"

As soon as the door closed, the girls indulged in their favourite activity: chitchat!

"Look at how nice he is, I mean, compared to his sister!" Desiree remarked dreamily.

"I love him so much! He is my source of inspiration!" Angelique added.

"Back off girls! Ryan Evans is mine!" Florence got in.

"Of course not, silly! He's mine," Gretchen insisted.

"I know girls!" Martina exclaimed. "We can have a competition, like the basketball team did for Sharpay. I mean, we'll obviously leave Darbus out of this, but why not, it will be fun!"

"That's a very good idea!" One by one the drama girls agreed. Oops! Everything had finished or was everything starting from the beginning again?

The End

* * *

**Author's Note:** So another story ends… It feels weird, since I really enjoyed writing that. Some of you will have spotted another Zack and Cody mention. In the beginning, the "I love you-I love you more" moment is a paraphrase of the classic Trevor and Maddie scene "I hate you-I hate you more" which is regarded as the best Zashley kiss ever. So, did you like the end of the story? Whatever, I won't bother you a lot, let me just go on with the awards! 

The **Platinum Loyalty Reviewer Award** goes to **Stessa** and **chris tea xx**, for practically reviewing every chapter! Thank you guys, with your help I am 10 short of reaching 100 reviews. For the same reasons, the **Golden Loyalty Reviewer Award** goes to **xamyxjx, Blueeyedgirl19, doodleswriter357, pinkturtle, charmed4eva112, fibi3 **and** jade-kwl-name-eva.** Wow that's many! **Elva is watching you, Jenny1991, Gorgeous Nick Stokes, x Estabanita x**, and **Stargatecrazy** share the **Silver Loyalty Reviewer Award**!

The **Make-Me-Smile Award** goes to **Christy** aka **chris tea xx**! Her reviews were hilarious! Thank you, for brightening my day! Examples: loser mark. i hate you. i don't like you anymore, GO AWAY JASON! I HATE YOU. Also gets the **"Made Point Clear" Award**.

The **Oracle Award** goes to **jade-kwl-name-eva**, who could predict what would happen next in the story!

**Stessa** is **Ultimate Markpay Fan**, and charmed4eva112 is **Ultimate Zekepay Fan**. For Troypay, you are many…

**Valuable Feedback Award** goes to **Stessa** and **pinkturtle**.

**Last Chapter Catch-Up Award** goes to **countingsheep** and **sexydreamer.**

And… I owe a promise to Katie, aka **DramaticStarlet.**

Thank you all once again! Angie aka Regina Biance del Mare Azzuro.


End file.
